Rouge
by thepaperfalcon
Summary: Sakura, a workaholic cafe owner, stumbles upon a woman in need one fateful night. AU. SakuIno.
1. January

**I**

**J A N U A R Y**

The night seemed darker than usual through her half-opened eyes. The streets were empty save for the eerie luminance of the street lamps. The scenery was dull and repetitive, a constant blur through the glass. She was beginning to nod off behind the steering wheel in her '89 Supra. The radio faded out long ago into a distant hum to her ears, doing nothing to keep her awake.

Haruno Sakura. That's her—a long-term workaholic with ambition bigger than her dreams. On some days, she would even forget what she was working for, but she would never tire of her job.

Her pride and joy was a small coffee shop inherited from her late mother two years ago located a few streets from her small two-bedroom apartment. Life was definitely no cakewalk and fortune wasn't the most generous to her. It was a small place, and the owner doubled as its only employee. She had regulars, but her goals involved too much cash for a few customers to help achieve. Besides, no one said life had to be complicated, and it definitely wasn't right now. Some people may differ, but to her it's just simple living. She couldn't imagine _not_ being able to spend hours at the café, receiving customers as they came and went.

However, on this night, she had drunk several coffees too many after having woken up at 5am to pick up groceries after a thirty minute drive at the only twenty-four hour market she could find. Then she rushed back to her little café to prepare for the day. She opened up just in time for the breakfast shift. The throng of customers flooded in and drowned out for a while before the noon rush started. But since she was the waitress, the chef and barista, as well as the errand-running part-timer, it was no surprised that she was virtually burnt out before the afternoon cool-down of customers. As busy as that sounded, it really wasn't as severe as one would think. She had only five tables arranged in placements of fours. Despite that, breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus always brought on a full house, and five tables were not easy to serve while working alone. Plus, there were also people who line up at the cash register for quick bites and coffee. Now that she finally obtained an alcohol license, she saw even more people—different people of different niches.

With all this, it would be such a waste if she didn't expand her hours.

She pictured in her mind the ideal setting for her little café. Navy velvet booths would replace her boring wooden chairs, and the cheap tables she had now would be a modern combination of wood and glass. She wanted to redecorate the whole place and one day buy out the fish market next door. When that day comes, she'd introduce twice as many items on the menu, an ice cream station, or maybe even built in stoves for hot pot in the winter and grills all year around. After that it would be time for the franchising. Expansion and greater development: that was her never-ending mission.

She couldn't wait to return home to her bed and catch some sleep. Four hours of sleep is a big hopeful. If she could, she could probably sleep through an entire week to make up for lost sleep these past few days. What a workaholic she's become. At least she was making money. She could worry about tomorrow to make time pass by quicker, but the cool-down of caffeine was making driving almost unbearable. Fortunately not a soul wandered on the streets because even her headlights were beginning to flicker out of her vision.

It was a strange feeling, to be almost thankful of this fatigue to keep her from thinking clearly. Nights like this wrote out her thoughts in fragments. Tonight was no different. _Huuh...lunch special...mmm...shower...should I sell my TV? _She thought without even stopping to think about what's going through her mind. _Try that new recipe from that one magazine...Shit I threw it out...gotta do my laundry..._

Suddenly, out of the corner of her weary eyes, she noticed a dark heap on the sidewalk. She drove right by the first time, pegging it as a couple of garbage bags, but something didn't sit right with her. Halfway down the block, she pushed into reverse and sat there scrutinizing the shadows. She shook her head. Then again... With a sigh, she parked the car in the middle of the quiet road and slid out of her seat to investigate. Her steps were cautious and her eyes squinted hard in attempt to focus. Now that she was closer, it seemed probable that she mistook the bushes lined up in front of the house to be something else. She didn't trust herself with all the weighted fatigue, but something told her that she should go and satiate her curiosity before it sapped more of her precious energy.

"Oh god," her words involuntarily slipped out. She quickened her pace and almost fell right next to the heap of darkness. It was a woman. She laid on her side, arms and legs tucked neatly into her body, almost in foetal position, as if she were asleep.

"M-miss, are you alright?" Sakura called out shakily. Her hand tentatively reached out to touch her shoulder, but quickly shook it off as a bad idea. She repeated her question.

The woman stirred and attempted to get up, only to fall back again. She opened her eyes and stared at Sakura blankly. "I…I'm...my...head..." she tried to say. Her throat was hoarse—she could have been here for hours. With shaky hands, Sakura reached out and gently brushed back the woman's hair. Blood.

"I'm going to call for help, okay?" Sakura told her. "You'll be alright. I'll make sure of it." Hopefully. She didn't like to lie, regardless if the woman heard her or not.

She quickly ran back to her car and retrieved her cell phone. After dialling 911, she stood around impatiently, checking the woman's breathing every ten seconds or so during the longest ten minute wait she had ever experienced. It was all she could do to keep herself calm. She didn't want to disturb anything by checking for other injuries; that has to be left with up to the paramedics. She looked around restlessly and soon noticed a paper bag a few feet away with its contents spilling out of it. A couple of sandwiches from the convenience store quite a ways down the street. That must've been the cause of her late-night excursion.

Giving in to her sense of responsibility, she followed the paramedics to the hospital and prepared herself for questioning. She had no idea who the woman was when one of the hospital staff asked her. But after a quick body check of any personal belongings, they found a wallet with a driver's license and a thick collection of receipts. The woman was identified as Yamanaka Ino, age 24. The hospital submitted her without delay and Sakura was forced to stay behind with a wary police officer to explain what happened.

"So," he grunted, obviously wanting to be elsewhere. "Go on."

"I found her on the sidewalk as I was driving home," Sakura said, and quickly gave him the address of the nearby house where the woman was found.

"You know anything about her?"

"No, Sir. Nothing at all."

"Alright then, let's look some stuff up."

After a sweep of hospital's database, it was confirmed that Yamanaka Ino was married with two children but without any other registered relatives. Records stated that she'd been here before. The officer promptly called her husband, under the name of Uchiha Sasuke. It took three full calls before someone picked up, followed by an ear-shattering torrent of drunken gibberish.

"This is the police," the officer said calmly into the receiver. "Sir, your wife has just been admitted to the hospital."

His reply was so loud that even Sakura could hear with clarity beside the uniformed man. "OH, FUCK OFF! THE BI'SH SAW IT COMIN'. WHERE THE FUCK IS MY KIDS EH?" His angry shouting continued, pausing only to consume more alcohol, evident from the sloshing of liquids on the other end. Over and over again, he demanded to see his children with rising fury.

Finally, Sakura grabbed the phone from the confused officer and shouted over his ranting, "Sorry, sir, wrong number." The officer looked at her sharply, receiving only an apologetic smile in return.

"It really could be the wrong number," she explained with a shrug. "But if it isn't, then that's all the more reason to hang up. A man like that would only prove to be dangerous."

"Uh-huh," the man replied noncommittally. He shrugged in turn. "So what do you propose we do?"

"I could check on her kids, officer. That is...if it's okay. And I kind of think you should look into it. It could be domestic violence."

He raised a brow. "S'long as you get the OK from Miss Yamanaka, that ain't my business no more. As for the crazy alky, I'll see what I can do."

"Do you want some sort of report or anything? Make sure I don't go kidnapping the kids for ransom?"

"Nah, it's all good," he yawned, and momentarily removed his cap to run a hand through his hair. "You seem like a nice kid."

"But, Sir, I think there's got to be some procedure to follow. Assumptions like that could potentially lead to trouble. I'd hate to think this is the kind of behaviour officers have towards every crime," she replied frankly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Look lady, this doesn't have to be a complicated issue. We've got a lot on our hands. We can't take every phone call to tell us that the kids have been fed, alright?"

Sakura blinked. "Of course, Officer," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's been a long day, hasn't it," he sighed, shaking his head. He ran his hand down his face. "Anyway, I'm sorry. We need more citizens like you around." Then after a short interrogation section, he nodded and left.

_What a crazy day_, she thought to herself. Before she could call it a night and go home, the doctor came out to greet her. There was a peculiar look in his eyes, looking out of place on his emotionless face. "Sakura," he said. "Did you bring that woman in?" The doctor was an old friend of her grandmother, usually familiarly referred to as Grandpa. Since both grandparents died, he'd watched over both her and her mother. Now it was just her.

"Yes, but I don't actually know her. We just checked and she doesn't seem to have family. Just two kids at home."

Grandpa sighed, his wrinkles creasing with ever movement. "Unfortunately, if that's the case then I'm can't to give you any information on her current state."

"I'll watch over her in place of her family, wherever they may be. Her husband is a raging alcoholic judging by our short conversation over the phone. I don't think it's safe to leave her and her kids alone. So please," Sakura said.

After a long pause, he finally sighed and gave in. "We found a series of bruises all over her body. Very recent from what we can see. One likely situation is that she was mugged and beaten quite severely. Fortunately nothing is broken, but we will keep her here for a day or two and see how things go from there." Immediately Sakura wondered if her drunken husband had a role to play. "Hopefully, you'll stick around. Understand that I'm only letting you do this because I know you can help her. This is just a town after all. She looks like she'll need someone," he added without the professional stoicism. "Maybe you can track down any friends or something. I don't know. You shouldn't feel obligated though. Sakura, I've known you since you were just a baby, and I know you're trying hard to make up everything, but be careful alright?" He smiled, "Whatever happens, I'm sure your mother and your grandmother will be very proud of you."

"Don't worry," Sakura said, "I'll drop by tomorrow."

X

The next morning, after a sleeplessly bleak night, Sakura decided to fulfill her promise as soon as she possibly could. She wanted to check on the children first, but it didn't take the whole night to figure out that she didn't have the woman's address or the keys. Although at a loss, she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to open up the shop today. As much as she disliked losing profit on a spontaneous day off, she understood her priorities well.

Sakura directed herself on the instructions of the nurse at the front desk to Yamanaka Ino's room, coffee and a fruit basket in hand. She felt a tinge of nervousness in approaching the stranger, but she was even more afraid of seeing what kind of state she was in._ C'mon what are you afraid of?_ She told herself, _you're just being a nice stranger caring for someone in need. What happens to her is not your responsibility!_

The wards were spotlessly clean, as expected. Each room had two rows of three beds lined up against the walls, opposite to each other. The white lights illuminating the building only added to the appearance of cleanliness. However, the place was packed with bodies moving around the hallways and darting in and out of rooms. It was seven in the morning and there were already countless busy staff running around. This was the only hospital in this town, so there was no surprise.

Upon entering the room, Sakura quickly scanned through the numbers on the beds and saw, to her surprised, Yamanaka Ino sitting upright with a newspaper in hand. She stood out among the others in the ward, untouchable and alone. Her head was bandaged, but she didn't look otherwise harmed. Sakura stood at the doorway, staring at the woman, dumbfounded. Even in the dreariness of the white hospital lights, she was clearly a beautiful woman. It was a little hard to believe that she had given birth to two children. The only real evidence of that was the air of chronic fatigue hanging about her features.

Sakura didn't know how to approach her, and mentally kicked herself for not thinking of this last night. What should she say? What _could_ she say to not look like creepy person who followed her in the middle of the night? Worse, what is she suspected her of the crime? No, that wouldn't happen, she's got to have _some_ common sense. She spent some time staring at her blankly as Ino's eyes roamed the newspaper. She took a deep breath in attempt to ease her nerves. Ino looked up from her paper and looked directly at her. Sakura smiled sheepishly in return, but received only an awkward and unimpressed stare before she hid her face behind the newspaper. She was obviously not in a good mood.

_I think I can die of embarrassment right now,_ Sakura thought woefully, giving herself a mental slap in the face. _Curse it! I didn't do anything wrong! Why should I be afraid of...of a beautiful woman! Just go up to her and tell her you're her white knight! _

Realizing the other patients were watching her, she quickly bundled up as much of her courage as possible and marched right up to her bedside with her lips pressed in a thin line. Sakura stared at her hard, but still couldn't find the right words. She felt an unexplainable tension pressing against her, but it might have just been the powerful aura the other woman gave off. After a minute of silence, the blonde woman folded her newspaper and frowned. "Can I help you?" she asked, keeping her confusion minimal.

"Uhm, yeah. I mean no! Er, sort of, not really?" Sakura replied a little too quickly. "What I mean to say is that," she took a deep breath, "this is for you." She placed the basket on the surface at the foot of her bed.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else," Ino said politely. Sakura shook her head vigorously. Ino's confusion, along with her curiosity, only increased. "Forgive me for asking but…have we met before?"

Sakura stared at the coffee in her hand. "Y-yeah, yeah we have. You are Miss Yamanaka Ino, correct?" She nodded slowly. "Yeah…uhm, we kind of met…last night. It was dark, so I guess you couldn't see me. But I don't blame you. It was very late. At night." _That sounds wrong! _Sakura panicked. "Plus you were—"

"You're the reason I'm here." She interjected more to herself than Sakura. It wasn't even a question and she spoke in monotone, making her difficult to decipher. Positive or negative connotation, Sakura didn't have a clue.

Sakura cleared her throat, composing herself. "Yes. I'm the one who found you."

"Oh, then why are you here? Usually that's as far as heroes go. Do you want a medal of honour or something?" Her voice was bitter, cynical. Sakura wouldn't be surprised if she was trying to frighten her away. That's one technique she was definitely familiar with in her childhood.

"I came by to see if you're okay," Sakura smiled.

"Well you've seen me, now what?"

Sakura pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, and scanned the newspaper headlines with feigned interest. "Pity about that woman. It's scary when you can't even trust the man you love anymore." Ino looked down at the article about a woman butchered by her husband. Nothing either of them hasn't seen in the headlines before.

"She'll just be another nameless, faceless person in the newspaper archives by the end of today," she replied.

"True. It's the message that's frightening though. You're married--you should know a thing or two about trust."

Ino scoffed. "I don't know how you managed to find out about the bastard, but I'd really rather not talk about him"—she suddenly shot Sakura a sharp look—"you didn't tell him about me did you? Where I am or anything?"

"The cop yesterday told him you were in the hospital. But I made him hang up as soon as it became obvious that he's a psychotic alcoholic. Hopefully that'd mean you're safe for now."

"Shit! Did you tell anyone else? My kids are still at home alone!" The woman went from composed and cool to neurotic and desperate faster than Sakura could blink. She clawed onto Sakura's arm and held on as if it was the one thing she had to hold on to before she slipped into insanity.

"Do you...have any friends we could call?" Sakura said, nervously stroking her hand to ease her grip.

Ino looked ashamed and her eyes sunken, as if she aged ten years in the span of a single second. "We moved here not too long ago--my kids and I."

"Are you...divorced?"

"No. He won't sign it without bea—getting angry. That's why I'm trying to stay away from him for the next year for the automatic. Then I'll be rid of him, even if it's only in the eyes of law."

The whole room seemed to have held its breath. There was noise everywhere but to the two women, there was only thoughtful silence. "Don't worry," Sakura suddenly grinned, "I'll do whatever I can to help. I won't let him near you or your kids."

"Why?" Ino asked.

"Just because. It's hard to stand by while someone's life is in potential danger. Don't wanna die with the guilty conscience that says 'I could've saved her'. I understand if you don't trust me."

"I don't have much of a choice," she murmured, averting her eyes.

"Then don't worry about a thing and just get better. Shall I...bring your kids here?"

Ino smiled and shrugged, lifeless and forlorn. "Thank you. And...my son needs to go to school."

"Don't worry about a thing. I'm just happy I can help," Sakura blushed. She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a stack of cards. She found a pen on the bedside table, probably for Ino to do her crosswords, and scribbled down her information onto one. Grinning, she placed the card into the blonde woman's hand, and squeezed it reassuringly before take a step back.

"Those are all three of my available phone numbers," she explained. "I numbered them in order of priority. The printed number, obviously, is for my cafe. I might take your kids down there for some food if you don't mind. It's better than the fast food you bought for them last night. My cell phone is first, then my home phone just in case."

Ino gaped at her. "I know you don't trust me, and why would you," Sakura continued a little more sheepishly, "so I thought you would want to know how to check up on me."

Ino let herself go just enough to squeeze out a tiny smile and thanked her again. Up until now, Sakura hadn't noticed how fast her heart was racing. With the discovery in mind, she forgot how to puzzle together coherent sentences. So she just nodded.

X

_Wow, how…clean,_ Sakura thought as she stepped into the old flat. It was simple: an open living room with a wooden door to the kitchen. The appliances were out of date and the furniture looked second-hand. However, the toys concentrated in front of an old television, the glass balcony doors peppered with stickers, and the artwork-covered refrigerator gave the home a warm glow. With teeming curiosity, Sakura slowly moved around the living room, examining things with unexpected interest. The size and layout of the apartment was similar to her own. The main difference was that Sakura's flat was newer and didn't have the appearance of being on the verge of collapse. Neither did it have the life that this one had. This place actually felt _lived in._

Sakura traced the old watermarks on the wall absently upon wandering into the tiny kitchen as she stared across at the prehistoric microwave. Nothing in the house bore its original colours—some places were even brown with mould. She walked over to the refrigerator and contemplated on whether to open it or not when she felt a pair of eyes on her back.

She turned around at briefly met a mirroring image of Ino's eyes. The little boy, with a messy head of jet-black hair, had pink cheeks and handsome features. _A real chick-magnet when he grows up_, Sakura mused as they silently stared at each other. _If he isn't already. Probably gets chased all the time._

"You must be Chikao," Sakura said, remembering Ino's descriptions before she left.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. "You're not Mommy."

"No," Sakura smiled gently, "I'm a friend of your mommy. My name is Sakura. She asked me to take you to school."

"Really? Where's Mommy?"

Sakura blinked. _Quick, think of something._ "She's, uh, helping me, er, paint my house. Yeah." _Good one, idiot._

"Oh, you're not very smart," he said without hesitation. "She sucks at drawing pictures. She helped me draw a dog for homework and all my friends laughed at me." He crossed his arms and pouted. "I only got a silver star instead of a gold star. And I really, really like getting gold stars!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his story and the seriousness etched across his face. "Really? Well, next time I'll help you with drawing. I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself."

The little boy beamed. "Okay," Sakura said as she glanced at the wall clock behind the boy, "we should get ready for school."

"I'm ready, but Chika is still sleeping. I'll call her for you, Saku-nee!" he said happily. Before Sakura could reply, Chikao bolted off into the hallway shouting his sister's name even after he disappeared from view. Sakura followed him.

"…But Mommy says we're not supposed to talk to strangers," Sakura heard a childish female voice say as she approached the room Chikao ran into.

"But she's Mommy's friend. And she's nice. Come on, Chika, wake up," he whined in reply.

She softly pushed open the door Chikao left ajar and peered inside. The two children both turned to look at her. Chikao grinned. But Sakura's attention was fixed on something else. Chika was sitting up, turned to face her. Her fawn-coloured hair was tousled from sleep, but there was something distinctly different about her that distinguished her from other children. Sakura took a cautious step into the room.

"Chikao?" Chika said, breaking the silence. She stared straight at Sakura, and Sakura returned the look with a pang of sympathy. Her eyes were grey, both iris and pupil. Her world was black.

"Hello Chika," Sakura said warmly. "My name is Sakura. Your mommy asked me to take your brother to school. You'll come with us right? We're going to pick up some food on the way there. You two must be starving right?"

"Food!" Chikao cheered. "C'mon Chika, let's go!" He threw her blankets off her and threw a few articles of clothing onto her lap. Both he and Sakura were then sent outside to wait as she changed. As they waited, Chikao demanded that Sakura draw him a dog to prove her artistic abilities to him. Sakura laughed his amazement when her drawing turned out to be more than just a few circles for the body and lines for the legs. In fact, he was so impressed that he went into the kitchen and stuck it onto the fridge with a magnet, but not before telling her to sign her name on the corner because "all famous people do that. It's a rule of being famous."

Once Chika was ready, she called her brother who, in the middle of showing Sakura his own drawings, thrusted everything into Sakura's hands and immediately ran back into the room. They both came back out into the living room with Chikao tightly holding onto Chika's hand. The innocence of such a spectacle forced a smile onto Sakura's face. Even though she grew up in this same little town, Sakura had never in her life witnessed such gentleness within children. That Chikao would drop everything at any moment to help his sister was astounding to her.

"How old are you?" Sakura asked the hyper boy once they had all piled into her car.

"I'm six! Chika's five," he replied happily.

"Really now," she replied in an appeasing tone of wonder, "I thought you must have been at least eight."

"People tell me that a-a-a-all the time! But Mommy always calls us her babies. I don't really get it. It's not like I drool all the time anymore. And I can go poopy by myself!"

"I'm sure she's very proud of you."

Chikao looked thoughtful for a second. "Yeah, but she only says that when I'm sad about not getting gold stars. So I don't really think that counts."

Tentatively, Sakura decided to approach the subject that had been bothering her since last night. With a small smile, she asked, "What about your daddy?"

Chikao's eyes grew wide. He clasped both hands onto his mouth and shook his head vigorously from side to side. Even Chika turned to face them, her features expectant. "Mommy says we're not supposed to talk about him," was his muffled reply. "Mommy said that Daddy is --Ow! Don't hit me! Keep your hands to yourself!"

"Chikao! We're not supposed to talk about the bad man!" Chika said in her strictest voice, abruptly turning her attention back outside.

_I expected as much, _Sakura thought. _At least it's not as dysfunctional as last night's phone call suggested. Nonetheless, I can't even imagine how Ms. Yamanaka managed to pull through. Better not talk about that anymore. _

During the rest of the ride to the café, Chikao spoke nonstop about random things from his friends to school to things he liked. By the end of the car ride, Sakura learned that he loved Toblerone chocolate, that he believes Santa is really a woman, that he can play the triangle, and that he knows all the lyrics to old Kelly Clarkson songs, at least in his mind.

"Are you a big fan of Kelly Clarkson?" Sakura asked him after he had sufficiently showed off his vocal talents (screaming the first few lines of the chorus and mumbling the rest of the song).

"No," he said, his chubby cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "but Chika is! Mommy likes Kelly too but she won't admit it. She has her CDs so that's what we listen to. Mommy's other CDs are boring. Well…Mommy says a lot of songs are bad, so she doesn't let us listen to the radio even though she listens to it every morning. It's not fair that she gets to listen to old men speak very fast and we can't listen to Kelly. And, and, Mommy doesn't let us watch any music channels on TV." Suddenly, he shot up in his seat with a wide triumphant grin on his face. "But since Mommy wasn't home yesterday, me and Chika watched it! They say a _lot _of bad words," he spread his arms as far as the small space inside the car allowed him to in order to emphasize. When he said "me and Chika", Sakura couldn't help but glance into the rear-view mirror at the blind girl, now hiding her eyes behind a pair of wide sunglasses.

Even as they stepped into the fresh aroma of Sakura's café, as Chikao ran excitedly to the display of cakes, Chika did not speak a word to them. She was taken by the hand by her brother, but she only followed along with him showing little to no emotion at all.

"What would you like?" Sakura addressed the two of them. "You can have anything you want for lunch."

"Really?" Chika exclaimed, his eyes glimmering as he eyed the menu.

"Of course, I run this place."

"That's so cool! Can I see the kitchen?"

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!" He exclaimed throwing up his hands. Before Sakura could say another word, he ducked under the wooden panel at the side of the bar and disappeared behind the curtain to the kitchen. Sakura glanced at his sister beside her, who stood frozen on the spot.

"Chika," Sakura said gently, kneeling down so she was eye-level to her, "are you hungry?"

"No," she said hesitantly, telling her otherwise. She defiantly turned her head away from her despite her betraying features.

Sakura, although taken aback by the little girl's stuffy behaviour, tried again. "Do you want to help me bake something?"

She momentarily brightened up, but decided to continue on being uncooperative.

"Let's do it this way," said Sakura cheerily as she got up. She took Chika by the hand. "I'll take you to the kitchen, to see what Chikao is up to first. Then we'll drop Chikao off at school and come back here to make something for your mommy. How does that sound?"

"I want to see Mommy," Chika replied quietly. Sakura could tell that she was beginning to give way. And she was truly thankful as to how easily pleased children were.

"Saku-nee! Saku- nee!" Chikao suddenly cried from the kitchen. He ran right into the curtain and had a bit of trouble before finally finding the opening. After successfully escaping, he jumped up and down behind the bar, waving his arms around frantically. Sakura could only see a tuff of his black hair riding with the momentum of his excitement. "Saku-nee! Saku-nee!"

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly. _I hope he didn't break anything_.

"There's so much ICE CREAM in there!" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs, eyes stretching more than Sakura thought possible.

She stared at him and just couldn't help but grin. _Looks like he found the freezer_. "Yes a lot of desserts have ice cream in them."

"Like what? Like what?" He asked incredulously, bouncing on his heels with impatience.

"Floats, ice cream cakes, and stuff like that."

"What's a float?" Chikao asked. "You mean a goat? I don't think goats would taste very good. Even with ice cream."

"No, no." Sakura laughed, "Here, I'll make you one very quickly. I'll make one for both of you so you can try. Have you found anything you want for lunch yet, Chikao?"

For a brief moment, the raven haired boy looked thoughtful. Then, throwing his arms up in resignation, he cried, "I can't choose!"

Sakura placed a glass under the nozzle and filled it with root beer. Her work was so routinely done every day that she didn't even have to look at the cup anymore to know when to stop the flow to get a reaction from the children. "How about a sandwich? We don't have a lot of time before we have to get you to school," she suggested. Her eyes were focused on the younger sibling as she filled a second cup. Chika had seated herself on a chair close by. Boring a sulky expression, she seemed to have completely tuned the world out as she drew circles on the table with her finger.

"Mommy says sandwiches are good for you and that if I eat more I'll grow big and strong. But Mommy can't cook, so she just says that to make us eat more."

"Cake?"

"My teacher says that cakes are full of evil things that make your teeth disappear," he replied plainly. He took a seat across from his sister and propped up his head with both hands.

"Do you like cinnamon rolls?" Sakura said as tirelessly as she could. She took out two plates and placed them under the cups. Then taking two massive scoops of ice cream in one hand, and both cups in the other, she placed them in front of the children with the skill and balance of overworking. She flashed a sly smile at Chikao and handed him a spoon and a straw. She knew Chika wouldn't give her the same bouncing anticipation, but she smiled nonetheless as she gave her the utensils. "Get ready," she whispered loud enough for the two to hear, touching Chika lightly on the back.

The ice cream fell carelessly from the scoop, first into Chika's cup, then Chikao's. Chikao stopped moving and held his breath as he waited. Then, without an ounce of warning, the ice cream reacted with the root beer, and the fizzing liquid overflowed like magma over a volcano, clinging onto the side of the glass and pooling beneath it. Chikao squealed with delight, and bounced vigorously in his seat. He then proceeded to imitate the booming sounds of volcanoes as he tried to re-enact the moment with his hands. Even Chika looked stunned as the room went silent save for the fizzling noises and betrayed an expression of shock and amusement at her brother's reaction.

"You're gonna lose your drink if you don't suck up all the bubbles," Sakura grinned. To her surprise, both children gave a small gasp and immediately grazed the surface of the glass with their straws, Chikao giggling away having the time of his life. The question of cinnamon rolls had long escaped everyone's minds.

"This is so cool, Chika!" he exclaimed. "It's ice cream! In root beer!"

Curiously, Chika felt around for the spoon dislodged on the side of the cup and poked around. With the spoon within her tiny hands, she could feel the resistance of the scoop of ice cream as she tried to push it down. After a few more attempts to sink it, she finally gave up when it began to melt and brought the spoon to her mouth, regretting the overflow of Coke she caused.

"Its fizzy ice cream," she said, making a face. Chikao reached over and swirled the straw around the rim of his sister's cup until Chika showed signs of acknowledgement. For the first time that day, Chika smiled, and fell into the trance of her own little world with her ice cream float.

"Saku-nee! Saku-nee!" Chikao shouted over at Sakura, who remained behind the counter as she watched the siblings. "Do you have any cookies? Chika really likes cookies, but Mommy says cookies have too much sugar and that sugar makes your teeth fall out by the time you're thirty!"

Sakura laughed. She bent over the counter, cheek resting in her hand. "That's a shame because I love sugar. A lot of things here have lots of sugar and thirty years old isn't far away."

"Woah! You're so _old_!"

"Now, now, you're never supposed to tell a woman that. You have to respect girls. Remember this because soon you'll start finding girlfriends and you don't want to get slapped across the face."

"Girls have cooties!" He cried defensively, but Sakura noted the shifty look in his eyes and knew exactly how he really felt about girls.

"Anyway," Sakura said, clearing her throat to avoid making Chikao uncomfortable, "yes I do have cookies. You'll have to forgive me though because I didn't have time to make a new batch this morning. These are from yesterday." She grabbed the entire basket from behind the display case and placed it in the middle of the children's table, satisfied when she saw the joyous look on Chika's face. She also handed them menus for them to pick and choose from.

"Saku-nee," Chikao said, eyes staring hard at the list of print before him, "what's a saw-full?"

"Its soufflé, hun."

"Oh. English is so screwed up." He made a face.

"That's because it's a French word."

"What's lemon meh-ring-gew pie then? Sounds like fish. Is it fish? Fish pies? Eeeeeew..."

"Meringue. It's probably French. Or Italian. I don't really know. It's not fish--it's a pie with lots of sugar."

"Oh! Oh! Tiramisu!" Chikao said, completely dismissing her explanation. _Ah the fickle minds of little boys,_ Sakura thought with a smile. _His energy must know no bounds._

"I don't think your Mommy will allow only desserts for lunch. How about a wrap?"

"Oh I like presents!"

"No it's like a…sandwich, except the bread is very flat and wraps around the filling. Like a burrito!" Sakura replied. She found herself making hand gestures a lot whenever she spoke to Chikao.

"What's that?" he asked with all the forces of wide-eyed innocence.

Sakura stared back at him incredulously. "Mommy doesn't take you out to eat often, does she?"

"Nope! She says it's too expensive and unhealthy. We always eat at home besides lunchtime at school because my teacher says we have to bring healthy lunches to school. I don't know why, but all my friends eat at school too so its lots of fun!"

"What does Mommy make you for dinner then?"

"Rice. Sometimes we have soup too."

"Don't tell me she just gives you plain rice."

"No we have soy sauce too and usually veggies and stuff. But when we lived with Daddy, we ate a lot of things like fwah-gwah or something...and steaks and lots of fancy stuff that didn't taste very good. I like steaks though. Mommy calls it man-food. We never ate at home...and me and Chika were too small to get menus. So we don't even know what everything is called. It was so unfair!"

"Foie gras…really… that's interesting. Does your Mommy work?"

"Yeah, she's a full-time mom. That's what she tells people anyway. I don't know if it pays well, but I don't think I want to be a full-time mom when I grow up." Sakura smiled, but only half-heartedly as she listened. _How does she manage? _Sakura thought as she absentmindedly watched the children kick each other playfully under the table. _I doubt I can do it for more than a day. It seems exhausting enough just to babysit._

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Sakura abruptly straightened herself up in panic. "Oh my god, we're late! When does school start?"

"8: 30," Chikao said indifferently, kicking his legs as he finished off his drink. The clock distinctly read 8: 24 in both analog and digital. Sakura quickly grabbed a paper bag and stuffed into it a cinnamon bun from the bakery-style display case, a bottle of juice from the display fridge behind her, and two cookies from one of the many little baskets on her countertop. Hurriedly, she placed the bag inside Chikao's near-empty backpack and took him by the hand, pulling him out of the chair. She picked up Chika despite her loud protests. It proved almost impossible to silence her once she's been stroked the wrong way. Once they were on the streets, Sakura had to try very hard to look like a mother trying to control her kids rather than some sort of pedophile kidnapper. Chikao wasn't helping either as he kept telling Sakura how badly she had upset his sister. "She hates being picked up, didn't Mommy tell you? You're supposed to keep _your hands to yourself_," he said, perfectly stressing the last few words just as a curly-haired man passed by with a young woman latched to his right arm. After that, Sakura noticed that they deliberately slowed down and followed her movements with cautious eyes. Behind her, she overheard them whispering something about the police. Sakura apologized to the two children and quickly placed Chika onto the ground and explained to them very carefully why they were rushing.

Just to make things harder for Sakura, Chika wasn't listening and instead shouted, "I want my Mommy!"

Alarmed, Sakura shushed her. She did not function well under pressure. Before she could even think about it, she turned to the couple behind her, saying the first excuse on her mind that wouldn't bring even more suspicion. "We just got married. The kids aren't really used to it yet," she blurted out with a sheepish smile. The man's eyebrows shot up, but said nothing while his companion simply nodded.

Once inside the car, Sakura sighed in relief. However, she didn't even have time to insert her key into the ignition when Chikao exclaimed, "You married Mommy?!" She had to steady herself with the steering wheel to prevent herself from dropping her head on it. _How the hell am I supposed to answer that?_

"Er, no, I didn't," Sakura said slowly.

"You mean you lied!" Oddly enough, Chikao was even more surprised at Sakura's lying than the actual lie itself, the two women being married.

"Yes, Chikao, I had to."

"Why? You're never supposed to lie!"

"It was just a little white lie."

"Oh, that's okay then."

Silence.

"By the way," Chikao said, suddenly bashful, "can we come back to your café? Since we didn't get to try all those yummy things you told us about."

Sakura smiled at him through the rear-view mirror. "You can come as often as you like as long as your mommy says its okay."

X

Chikao arrived five minutes after the school bell chimed to signal the beginning of class. Fortunately, the school, the district's public school, wasn't strict enough to question him about it. Sakura was able to avoid any long and very likely to be dubious explanations with his teachers or administrators. He had also insisted on being dropped off and not "led inside like a baby" because he was a "big kid", which made Sakura's life all the easier by dodging interrogation by his teacher.

Sakura turned her attention to the little girl in her backseat. She let out a silent breath of air. "You wanna go back to the café and bake cookies or do you wanna go see your mommy?" Chika didn't reply. There was no doubt that Sakura's picking her up had turned whatever progress they made sour. Sakura knew which choice would leave her with the least amount of trouble.

So, without another word, Sakura started her engine and drove towards Chika's favour.

As calm as her expression was, Sakura did not fail to notice her strenuously listening to the sounds of traffic through the partly rolled down window. She didn't know if the chirps of the walk sign and the whirring of cars flying by told her anything, but when she neared the hospital, Chika shot up in her seat in obvious excitement.

"How did you know we were here?" Sakura couldn't help asking as she pulled into a parking space.

"I'm not stupid," Chika mumbled, "there were ambulances going the same way."

"Oh," was all she could say. She vaguely recalled the distant sound of sirens, but to her, the sounds were so faint that they could've come from any direction.

Once they were inside the building, Sakura had to break into a fast walk to keep up with the excited little girl. At one point, she even received a warning from a passing nurse about hallway conduct. Inside the ward, she anchored herself outside the door and winded herself down, careful not to embarrass herself in front of Ino. She was intimidating enough without displeasing her.

Sakura walked in just to catch Yamanaka Ino beaming at the sight of her daughter. Every ice-cold part of her that was shown to Sakura immediately melted—it was a complete transformation. She mouthed a silent thank-you to Sakura and embraced Chika with such fervour that Sakura has never seen. They pulled away and the little girl immediately sent a volley of questions at her mother. Ino tried to answer them as best she could, but most of them were dismissed. Chika didn't seem to notice.

Chika crawled onto Ino's lap and flung her arms around her. "Mommy, mommy!" she exclaimed with a million-dollar smile that Sakura thought she'd never be able to see. "Guess what, guess what!" _Oh no,_ Sakura thought. She knew what's coming and saying something at this point would only make things worse and she had nothing to hide.

"Chikao was late," Chika said happily. Ino shot a wary look at Sakura that made her reflexively want to hang her head. Sakura opened her mouth to explain, but was cut off by a blunt, "And she told some strangers that you married her." Sakura looked at her in horror, but Chika only stared back innocently.

Silence. _Now_ it was time for her to explain. Her palms were clamming up as she rubbed them together nervously. Ino was in a speechless state of awe. Her penetrating stare only made things worse as Sakura felt the heat of embarrassment spread across her cheeks to the tips of her ears.

"They were going to call the cops," Sakura squeaked. "I didn't know that Chika didn't like being picked up. We were running late because we lost track of time. I guess we were having too much fun," Chika stared up at her mom and shook her head vigorously, but Sakura allowed for a small smiled and continued. "Well, me and Chikao were having a lot of fun if that pleases Chika. I made them root beer floats. So when I finally noticed how late it was, I grabbed the kids and tried to get to the car as fast as I could, but caused such a fuss when I picked up Chika. A couple saw me and, like I said, were whispering about calling the cops so I had to say something to assure them that I wasn't a kidnapper."

"Of all things you say, Sakura, that's very…um…different? Most people would probably say babysitter or friend. But so far, you're trying really hard not to be 'most people', am I right?"

"T-that's not true! It's just that...m-most people use those so I thought it'd be even more suspicious," she replied quickly. "An excuse like this one would be pretty solid since most people wouldn't use it." Sakura looked away in attempt to hide the pink in her cheeks. "I don't work well under pressure. Let's just consider it water under the bridge...I-I mean, there are more pressing issues at hand. Like tonight? You're going to be staying here for one night right?"

Ino sighed. "I was hoping you would help me out. I need to get out of here. Y'know, tell the doctor no, my kids need me." She stroked Chika's cheeks affectionately and she made no attempt to squirm away. Still at an age where Chika craved her mother's touch, Ino could only look at her and wonder what she would do when she finally begins to grow up.

"That's not a good idea, Miss Yamanaka."

"Ino. Please. And if you don't mind, I will refer to you by your first name as well, Sakura."

"No, I don't mind," Sakura smiled. "I think it's best if they stay with me tonight. It's only one night. Tomorrow Chika and I will swing by to pick you up after Chikao gets to school. On time."

"I really, really don't want to put you through all this trouble. Don't you have a cafe to run?"

"Don't worry, I open till late."

"And sleep? Trust me you won't get any tonight. So I think--"

Sakura shook her head and laughed. "It won't be any trouble at all. Let me worry about everything. You can call to make sure I don't screw up. I'd do it for anyone so please don't fuss over the minor details."

"Anyone huh?" Ino looked at her, eyes set hard with seriousness. "Despite everything, I don't trust you. I'm really grateful for everything up to now but..."

"It's okay. That makes sense. It's up to you to decide." Ino's back was against the wall, they both knew that. There was no decision that had to be made.

"MOMMY! I DON'T WANT TO GO WITH HER!" Chika's voice suddenly erupted. Once again, they were the centre of attention in the ward.

Ino sighed, now bearing a pained look in her eyes. "Sweetie, Mommy has to stay here. It's only one night."

"I'll stay here with Mommy then," she said, almost tearfully as she clung to her mother.

"You can't, honey, Mommy—"

"No! No! No!"

"Chika," the blonde said sternly. She pulled away from Ino and crossed her arms with a prominent pout on her lips. "You'll have lots of fun."

"I won't."

Ino turned to Sakura. "You know about...her condition right?"

"Yes, but I'm sure it won't be an obstacle." For a second, Chika looked angry, but when she couldn't figure out why, she reverted back to being sulky. "We'll be good friends, right Chika?" Sakura smiled gently.

Ignoring her, Chika went back to pleading her mother. "You said never talk with strangers, Mommy! I don't wanna!"

"Don't make this hard for Mommy...please?" Ino said, giving her a puppy-eyed look. Chika crossed her arms and turned her head away angrily, strands of soft brown hair flying. "Fine," she murmured grudgingly.

X

That afternoon, just for the rush hours, Sakura went back to the cafe to open for business. She was due to pick up the kids for dinner at five, but not before delivering Chikao to his mother. She had to close shop in the middle of the three o'clock teatime rush, but it was better than closing all day. Besides, the kids didn't want her there, and she really didn't want to impose. At 3:30, she returned to her cafe to find a familiar face loitering outside.

"First you make me miss my morning bagel then you run off again just as I'm craving a muffin," Sakura heard as she approached the front door. She stuck her key into the lock and opened the door, the familiar wind chimes tinkling her ears for a moment.

"Hello, Temari," she greeted without enthusiasm. Temari is a long time customer, and a firefighter born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She drops in every day at precise times, but never orders something twice in a row. If she had a coffee one day, it has to be something else the next, usually tea.

"Why so sad to see me, ol' friend?"

"It's not you. I'm just tired." Temari followed her inside and grabbed a seat closest to the cashier.

"Didya meet a new friend last night?" She asked with a playful grin. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, c'mon, you know I'm just playing. You should think about meeting some singles though, how long has it been since—"

"Temari! Just. Order."

"Fine, fine." Temari did as she was told, but did not drop her grin. "So tell me," she said, wandering over to the counters to watch Sakura prepare her drink, "you're a workaholic. So why did you close today?"

"Long story."

"Please, that doesn't work on me. You know that."

"Alright, fine. I did meet someone."

"Liar."

"I did! I found her on the side of the road," she explained almost proudly. Temari gaped at her, then burst into loud resonating laughter. Sakura narrowed her eyes and watched as she tried to think of something to say, but kept stumbling over incoherent syllables. "I took her to the hospital."

"Wow, you broke her that bad," Temari said, but seeing her exasperated expression, she finally dropped her grin. "I knew it, you're never that exciting. That still doesn't explain why you didn't let me have my bagel though. And you better give it to me straight. You know how strong my imagination can be."

"Please don't remind me. Must you scandalize everything? And take pride in it at that. Nothing happened. I babysat for her, that's it. Then we went to see her in the hospital. Don't ask any questions please. I don't want to hear your snide little comments." Sakura slammed her espresso in front of her to emphasize.

"Wow, is she hot?"

"Temari! That's highly irrevelant!"

"There are plenty of beautiful moms out there, don't be so discriminatory," Temari said, waggling her finger at her. "Ever heard of the term 'MILF'?"

"I have nothing to say to that."

"C'moooon. You're such a prude. I tell you all my dirty secrets."

"It's not like I ask for them! Plus there's not a single person in town who doesn't know all your so-called secrets."

"Hey, hey, don't exaggerate! I don't care I'll give you the latest update anyway. I slept with that chick who hit on you last night, remember? So now you've gotta tell me. It's the unwritten law of friendship."

Sakura made a face. "I don't remember being hit on."

"Please! Girls wave their boobs in your face and you don't know you're being hit on! Don't change the subject! C'mon, is she hot? What does she look like?"

Sakura pretended to think hard. "Is she the one who looks like a porn star? Lots of hair, flings it everywhere?"

"No! I have standards you know. DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"Fine! Blonde hair, blue eyes. Happy? Take your goddamn muffin and go away."

"No-o-o-o, don't be so me-e-e-e-ean. That's the vaguest description I've heard yet! Maybe I know her. What's her name?"

Fortunately for Sakura, the wind chime sounded and a small group of customers came in. Temari stuck her tongue out at her and sat down after throwing down a five. Sakura greeted the familiar faces with a smile. The town was small, and it's easy to remember faces when they come by more than twice a week. The old woman who lived across the street—always wants a bran muffin at this time of day and a steaming cup of chamomile tea—her family has been in the house for generations, never remodelled even as all her neighbours expanded over and over. Then there's the man with the greying goatee and always sparkling eyes—most optimistic person in the world without the slightest bit of luck—comes in on weekdays and it's always a cup of coffee with exactly 2¾ teaspoons of sugar and a half-and-half (She used to use baking measures just for him, now it's all methodical). The cafe was home to many relationships and stories, which is one of the main reasons why Sakura felt so strongly for it. It was her second home, and part of the lives of others.

Today, there was someone new. A brunette, with a vaguely familiar face. Sakura kept her eyes on her as she idly chatted to the old woman. She grinned and smiled, but was too curious about the new customer to focus on her story. More importantly, she saw Temari watching her as well, and shot her a warning stare from across the room. Temari just grinned.

"...flowers?" Sakura stared blankly at the old woman and tried not to make it too obvious that she caught only the last word of their conversation. She asked her to repeat the question, and the old woman just laughed and waved it off.

"She's a cute one, isn't she, Sakura?" the woman jested in a low voice. She winked at Sakura and left, nibbling on her bran muffin. Even as the brunette approached, Sakura was still pink to the ears in embarrassment.

"Good afternoon," Sakura greeted. "What can I get you?"

The petite woman placed her order monotonously—black coffee, and nothing more. Not even the faintest smile. Temari came up from behind her, as friendly as ever. Sakura has seen enough of her tricks and bad habits to know what she's up to.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she said smoothly, holding her half-empty cup of espresso without a care in the world.

"No," she replied without looking at her.

"What's your name?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Please don't bother my customers, Temari," she said warily, knowing full well she wouldn't listen.

"Now she knows my name and I don't know hers. Thanks a lot, jackass," she said, picking up a straw from the cup behind the cash register and throwing it at her.

"Just ignore her," Sakura said with a kind smile, placing the drink on the counter. "She'll move on."

The woman nodded and picked up her drink. "Do you have newspapers here?" she asked as if nothing happened.

"Yeah, you must've missed it on your way in. There's a rack by the door."

"Oh," she said with a sheepish shrug, "I kind of broke my glasses."

"I can escort you!" Temari flashed an over-eager smile. Obeying Sakura's advice, the brunette ignored her and wandered over to the newspapers.

"Now look what you did!" Temari whispered harshly. Sakura grinned, without a hint of remorse. "You can make it up to me by getting her name."

Sakura stared in disbelief, but was quick to give in after a few light-hearted threats of spreading a well-imagined story featuring her mystery blonde. "Hey Miss," she called.

The woman straightened up, newspaper in hand, and looked over at Sakura. "Yes?"

"Could you just satisfy my friend's curiosity and give her your name? You can make it up, she'd never know."

The woman giggled softly, her eyes jumped from Sakura's to Temari's. She strode over and paid for her paper, standing close to the sandy-blonde, pretending not to notice her at all. "It's Tenten," she said, directing her words at Sakura. "I'll probably be back tomorrow. This seems like a good place to recommend my colleagues in the bookstore." Sakura noticed her eyes shifting to the side, but only grinned in response.

Without another word, the wind-chime played its melody again as Tenten exited.

Keeping her eyes on her retreating back, Temari leaned over the counter and whispered to Sakura, "You know, I think I'm in love."

"That's what you always say," Sakura retorted.

X

"Read us a story!" Chikao cried, jumping up and down excitedly on her white leather couch. Sakura had taken the kids back to her apartment after picking up take-out from the only Chinese restaurant in town. The children, having never seen food from the Orients, launched into a rush of curiosity and pure glee. The paper pamphlet menu itself was able to amuse them through half the dinner as they tried to pronounce all the exotic names like chicken chow mein. At least Chikao was obviously entertained. Chika remained mute through the evening, the only exceptions being single-word replies to her brother. Chikao wasn't happy about it, but was too distracted by everything in Sakura's apartment to care. Sakura was drained to a record degree, especially with the lack of sleep from the night before. However, she fought the sleep bravely and had managed to stay awake so far.

"What would you like to hear?"

"I dunno!" he said with a mile-wide grin. "You don't have any picture books so you'll hafta make one up!" Beside him, Chika lifted her head, expectant—either she really liked stories or she's just that fond of watching Sakura embarrass herself.

"Alright, alright, let's get to bed then, shall we?" She hated to admit, but even though she'd always exhibited a great sense of creativity in elementary school, her current skills were questionable. She had no reason to utilize them in high school, and social affairs (if you could call it that) kept her away from books and art in general. Her most recent innovative thought came from trying to find ways to boost the popularity of her mother's cafe after she inherited it, and even that took a long time to plan out as well as a lot of opinions.

So, in the short time she had to think of something while the children brushed their teeth, Sakura decided on the best method to approach this: point at a random direction and stick with it.

After a series of groaning and giggling, the siblings settled in comfortably in Sakura's bedroom. She tucked them in and pulled up a chair beside the queen-sized bed. She sat uncomfortably on all her dirty laundry. The chair was where everything ended up, but she was so tired, so looking forward to sleep that she couldn't even feel the scrunched up bras under the wrinkled jeans. Chikao stared at her expectantly with his puppy-like blue eyes so like two sapphires shining carelessly under the sun. Chika, on the other hand, moved to the other side of the bed with her back to Sakura as soon as they began to get comfortable.

"What story are you gonna tell us?"

"How about the story of The Ugly Duckling?" Sakura says as energetically as she could.

"But we've heard it already," Chikao frowns.

"I'm sure you haven't heard my version. It's actually called The Ugly Swan"

"O-oh!" he giggles, "okay then!"

Sakura cleared her throat. She had to think fast and try to appear as if she knows the story. Of course she knew the original story, but what can she add to make it tick with a six-year-old?

"Once upon a time," she began slowly, "There lived a swan"—Sakura glanced over at Chika and hoped—"the most beautiful swan for miles around. Her feathers were softer and whiter than everyone else. And do you know why this white swan was so special?"

Chikao shook his head vigorously.

"Because white is, in fact, not really a colour," Sakura explained, more to Chika than anyone else, "It's blank. Clean and pure. It's anything you want it to be and everything you can dream of! It's as soft as snow and bright as light. But it's also...empty. Like the swan. Even though she could be anything she wanted to be, she was hollow and sad."

"I don't really get it, but it sounds really sad," Chikao said. Chika had discreetly shuffled closer to her brother, twisting a little more to strain her ears with interest, but still too stubborn to let it show. "Can a swan cry?"

"I don't know, Chikao," Sakura replied.

"If they cry, will they have tissues to comfort them?" His round face was teeming with emotion. It wasn't hard to tell that, as silly as it might have sounded, his question was genuine.

"I assure you that in this story they will."

"That's good. I hope you give him the brand with the kittens on the package because they're really soft!" Sakura chuckled and ruffled Chikao's hair.

She continued, "This swan, was so beautiful that it made all the boy swans fell in love with her! But she didn't like a single one of them. Some were too boring or too annoying while others only loved her because she was beautiful. She didn't like that. She wanted to be loved for what's inside her. But one day, just as she was beginning to lose hope, she met a black swan! He was different from the others, and she was very afraid at first. He was a quiet one, having been picked on all his life. She didn't understand it, but she really wanted to be friends with him, this weird creature. She swam up and introduced herself, but he would only nod and say nothing. In reality, he was more scared of her than she was of him! He thought that she must be after something, that it was all a prank and that maybe a group of swans will appear and surround him and call him names. So, before she could even start a proper conversation, he swam away as quick as he could.

"But that wasn't the end of it. The white swan kept thinking about the black swan. Why did he run, she thought, why won't he be friends with her? No boy swan had ever run away from her like that. She had no idea that the black swan was alone, deep in an isolated part of the pond, thinking about her as well. He was so sad because he'd always been in love with her. But it was too good to be true. He knew some of the other swans knew about this as well, so her appearance _must_ have been a plan to embarrass him again. They could never be together. So he hung his head and cried."

"Wait!" Chikao said with a morose look on his face. "Can he have tissue? Will he be happier if he had tissue?"

"Chikao, you're so stupid," a new voice joined in. "He's going to be alone."

"Why?" Chikao turned to his sister with narrowed eyes.

"Because he's a black swan," she replied matter-of-factly. "And I know what black looks like."

"Saku-nee!" he whined, "she's wrong, right?"

"Black," Sakura said closing her eyes to absorb the moment and took a deep breath, "is the colour of everything. It's like white, but the opposite. It's not a colour, but the shade of sadness and loneliness. But...without it, you will never appreciate white." She opened her eyes and smiled. "In the dark, there is always light. That's what my mother used to tell me."

"Liar," she heard Chika murmur.

"The next day," Sakura went on with the story, "The white swan set out to look for him. She was so curious about him. His black feathers interested her and unlike anything she's seen. After a bit of searching, she found him near the darkest part of the pond, his head in the water looking for food. So she swam up beside him and waited patiently. When he finally looked up, he was so surprised that he choked. She giggled and he hid his face with shame.

"To his surprise, she said to him, 'Do you remember me?' He nodded, thinking _of course_. 'What's your name?'"

"Oh! Oh!"Chikao interrupted, "I wanna name him!"

"No!" a sharp voice shrieked, "Let me name him!" Both Sakura and Chikao stared at her, stunned at the sudden burst of emotion. Her brother nodded without saying another word.

"Alright," Sakura urged, "you can name him."

Chika thought for a minute. "Belle. From the beast story. Mommy told me it meant 'beautiful'."

"Chika...that's a girl's name." Sakura tilted her head curiously. So far, the two children seemed oddly accepting to homosexuality. Unknowingly, but still very puzzling.

"Then she will be a girl," Chika said defiantly, "I want her to be beautiful!"

"Well then! If that's the case then that's how the story will go. Belle, shy as she was, told the white swan her name. The white swan swam around her in circles with interest and told her, very boldly, that she liked her. 'You have the most beautiful feathers,' she told her. Belle's cheeks turned pink and replied, 'You must be mistaken—how can you say that when you're the most beautiful swan in the lake?'

"The white swan stared at her for a long time. This time it was her turn to blush. 'Who told you that?' she asked. Belle was confused. Did she really not know? She didn't know how to answer that, so she swam away. The white swan chased after her, of course, she was much too interesting. When she finally caught up, she asked Belle if she hated her. Belle shook her head, took a deep breath, and told her her secret.

"She was in love with her, even though she knew the white swan would only take it as a joke. However, she did not call her disgusting, or any mean names in fact. Instead, she stroked her feathers and said she loved her too. The end." Sakura let out a breath and mentally congratulated herself for the fairytale ending. At least she got through the story and Chika and Chikao seemed satisfied.

Chikao fell asleep before the story concluded. Only Chika's colourless eyes remained, staring back at her emptily. "Do you think that will happen to me too?" Chika whispered.

"Of course."

"Even though I can't see?"

"Of course!" Sakura assured, "Chikao and your Mommy loves you even though you can't see right?"

"Yeah, but that's different. They have to love me because they're family."

Sakura's lips curled into a sad smile. "I wish that was true for all families, but when you're older, you'll understand. Go to sleep soon, okay? We have a long day tomorrow." Affectionately, she leaned over and brushed her coffee-coloured strands behind her ears. Then she pulled up the covers for both children, and quietly tiptoed out of the room, looking forward to the sleep that awaited her on the living room couch.

X

"RISE AND SHINE!" was the first thing Sakura heard the next morning. She looked around, suddenly alert with her blankets wrapped tightly around her. _Sky is still dark,_ she thought to herself. Then out of nowhere, a heavy weight flew in and collided with her torso.

"WAKE UP!" The same voice screamed, followed by a fit of giggles. Chikao, Sakura's memory slowly registered.

"What's wrong? The sun isn't even up yet," she said hoarsely.

"WE GOTTA GO WAKE UP MOMMY! WE ALWAYS HAFTA WAKE MOMMY UP!" He dropped his voice and whispered, "Because if we don't she can sleep for a very, _very_ long time."

"But why do we have to wake her up? She's in the hospital, let her rest," Sakura moaned and fell back onto her pillows.

"NO!" Chikao screeched, "SHE HAS TO DO HER MORNING EXERCISES!" He got up and jumped up and down on the bed. Sakura's head hit the headboard with the momentum. Just when she thought she could wake up later, they _have_ to have to abide to their daily routines. She had no choice but to give in before Chikao injures her anymore.

"By the way, where is Chika?" Sakura called to Chikao, who had run off to the living room while she returned to her room to get dressed.

"Here," a little girl's voice called back. "I made breakfast."

"What?" Without thinking, Sakura dashed outside with her shirt flying behind her unbuttoned. Chikao screamed and ducked behind the couch while Chika stood there, solemn as ever with a plate of toast spread thick with raspberry jam and butter.

Sakura blushed and quickly covered herself. "You'll see this a lot when you grow up, Chikao," she said matter-of-factly. He screamed again. Sakura cleared her throat and started on the buttons. "Just forget I said anything."

"What happened?" Chika asked.

"Nothing."

Suddenly, from behind the couch, Chikao said something that left the other two speechless. "MOMMY'S BOOBIES ARE BIGGER!"

"Chikao! Who taught you that?" Sakura said without anger. If she wasn't holding back her laughter, she'd be on the floor by now. After all, she didn't want Chikao to think its okay to say to any girl he met.

"Some big kids taught me that word," he said, ducking again.

"Well, that's okay, but you should never tell a girl that another girl's boobs are bigger, alright? It hurts their feelings."

"But it's true!"

Uneasily, Sakura said, "I know." She shifted her eyes and felt a blush creeping up. It wasn't that she was staring of course, but there are some things you just can't help notice. Then she felt a tug on her sleeve. "Saku-nee," Chika said, looking up at her innocently, "will I have big boobs?"

She almost choked on her own spit. "I don't know it depends. But since your...Mommy...has big boobs, you probably will too. Alright guys, enough about boobs. You'll learn about them when you're older! Thank you both for waking me up and making breakfast. After we eat, we'll go see Mommy okay?"

"Can we make Mommy food too?" Chikao said, the high-backed chair at the dining table engulfing him as he jumped in.

"I don't see why not. What does she like?" The children's blank faces answered her question. Chika and Chikao exchanged glances, their wide-eyed expressions changing from surprise to accusing.

"She...she likes peaches!" Chikao tried.

"No!" Chika retorted. "Peaches make her all red and puffy and scary!"

"...Apples? I like apples."

"But that's not _Mommy's _favourite food! Don't be so _selfish_!" She poked him to emphasize, and he poked her right back. Before long, they were at the edge of their seats, poking each other, at first aggressively in non-stop get-backs, then playfully before fading into a big laughing fit where they both forgot why they were poking each other in the first place.

"Alright, alright," Sakura broke in, "I can't present you to your Mommy with bruises all over you. I'll come up with something with whatever I have in the fridge, okay? Now the quicker you finish your food the quicker we get to cook and the quicker you'll get to see her."

X

They found her at her bed dressed in the same clothes, decorated with splatters of dirt, that she wore when she was first admitted to the hospital. Most other patrons were still sleeping. She clutched a slip of paper in both hands, staring hard with worry etched into her brow. Without looking up, she stuffed the item into a worn leather satchel, old but no doubt a big brand name, and slung across her body. She appeared to be in deep thought. Sakura would've liked to wait a bit more so not to disturb her, but the children she held on to fled her grasp before she even noticed.

"Mommy!" Chikao cried, running until he slammed face-first into her leg with his arms wrapped around it like he would've died if he waited a second more. Chika, having just seen Ino yesterday, strode towards her coolly at first, but also broke into a run before jumping up and down in front of her with her arms in the air to be picked up.

"WE MISSED YOU MOMMY!" Chikao bawled into her pants.

"I missed you too, sweetie!" Ino laughed as she picked him up with her other arm. She had difficulty suspending them in the air, as if she expected him to be lighter, and quickly set them both down onto the bed so she could spoil them with a tight embrace.

Sakura smiled as she watched, but couldn't help but cut the moment short by asking, "Are you sure you're supposed to be going so early?"

"Yes," Ino said curtly, her eyes intimidating the other woman more than she knew.

"You didn't call yesterday," Sakura said after moments of uncomfortable silence.

"No, but it doesn't mean I trust you."

"I, uh, guess I did my job, so...goodbye."

"Wait," Ino said. The children were staring now, trying to read the situation without luck. They couldn't understand why their mother looked so grim when she should be happy right now. "I want to know something, Ms. Haruno."

"Er, Sakura. Please. And sure. Anything, just ask."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Sakura said, raising a brow.

"Why did you do this? You could've left me in the streets, but you didn't. You must've been taking hours off work to babysit my kids. Why?" Ino was frustrated and it was becoming more apparent with every breath she took when it started to sound constraint.

"Because I thought you were going to die," Sakura shrugged. The most obvious answer.

"But I didn't."

"But I couldn't have known that."

"It doesn't matter. You didn't stop at calling the ambulance. There has to be something more to this. What do you want from me?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to be confused. A trick question? "Nothing," she answered honestly.

"Money?"

"No, I'd never want to take your money."

"Future blackmail?"

"No, I'm surprised you even thought of that."

"...Sex?" Ino said hesitantly.

"No!" Sakura flushed. "Believe me, I don't want anything. I helped you because I wanted to. Think of it as redemption. Look, don't worry about it, okay? Now that you're good and healthy again, you don't even have to remember my name if you don't want to."

"We're never gonna see you again?" Chikao said suddenly. His lips quivered. Beside him, Chika looked almost as stunned as he was.

"You never know," Sakura replied with the brightest smile she could muster and walked over to ruffle his hair.

"Thank you again," Ino said, casting a shy glance into her eyes as she pulled her children away. "There's no easy way to see this...but..."—she leaned in close so Chikao and Chika wouldn't hear, unintentionally igniting fire to Sakura's face—"It's probably...not a good idea to meet again. I-I'm happy you helped me with so much and thanking you a million times wouldn't be enough. This is probably the shittiest form of compensation I have to offer, but I have my reasons...so let's just...forget all of this."

She brushed past her with both children in tow. One of them, Sakura couldn't tell, briefly held onto her hand as they left. Neither said anything, unaware. They smiled widely at her, and Sakura found herself waving back, wondering if she'll ever see them again. Though their time was short, she knew that the small struggling family had already somehow stepped all over her life, a memory that begged for companions.

* * *

**A/N: Alrighty! Those who have me on alert...this probably wasn't what you hoped for. And I promise I'll go back to SCABL now! Once again, this sort of an experimental story is another of many firsts, so I more than welcome _constructive_ criticism. With enough popularity, I'll continue on. It's meant to be a three-parted story FYI. Otherwise, you know, no big deal. I'll find something else. Probably. _OR_ I could just go back to SCABL, of course. Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**


	2. March

**II**

**M A R C H**

**Part 1**

Haruno Sakura hummed along to the distant ambient sounds playing in her cafe. The afternoon rush had dwindled to a single obnoxious customer on her day off. She brewed herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from her favourite patron with a newspaper. She highly doubted she would be able to get through much of the sections, but she had to read the horoscopes if nothing else. Just for curiosity's sake of course. Haruno took a sip of her coffee and smiled. Today was just a peaceful, perfect day.

The sun flooded in the entire vicinity around the small coffee shop. Through Sakura's eyes, the whole world seemed to be standing still among the firelight. For no reason in particular, she felt relieved of her usual stress. There was a thick shroud of happiness within her just waiting to be released. To anyone who passed by the curtained windows, she offered her most brilliant smile. This was the kind of happiness that not even the greatest dead weight could waver. Temari had once said she was very easily pleased, like a child sometimes. Though she denied it then, she could now see her reasoning. Just the sunlight was enough to make her day. But who could blame her? After months of grey and rain, spring was finally here! She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen such a brilliantly lit day.

On the other hand, with intensely focused eyes and lips pursed ever so slightly, Temari neither saw nor heard the world around her. Sakura glanced over her newspaper to see the latest in her literary expeditions. For all the years that she'd known the firefighter, she had never once seen her pick up a single book. Now, all of a sudden, she couldn't be seen without one. Her titles were unpredictable as well, with obvious outside influence. Today's winner was a Hans Christian Anderson collection.

"Fate sure is cruel sometimes," Temari said suddenly, her voice cutting through the twitter of the birds outside. "The poor little tin soldier. If they didn't have enough spoons to make exactly twenty-five soldiers, then make twenty-four and spare it the pain for god's sake! Make a pet dog or something--at least it'd be able to have all four legs!"

Sakura laughed. "I don't think that's what the author was getting at."

"But still!"

"Think of it this way," Sakura said, "if he was never created, he would've never met the little doll."

"She was a _dancer_. A little paper dancer," Temari defended. "It's such a tragic romance!"

"Please, Temari, yours is _much_ more tragic," Sakura teased, arching a brow.

"Just what are you getting at this time?" She picked up the thin ribbon bookmark and slipped it neatly between the pages, then slammed it shut with feigned anger. "You of all people have no right to judge _my_ love life," she huffed playfully.

"Well, I can see what you're doing. You're spending all your paycheque on _books_! And you spend all your free time reading just so you can go back to that same bookstore as soon as you can."

"I don't spend _my entire_ paycheque okay? I make almost 73 grand a year. Do you _really_ think I'd read _that_ many books?"

"Sure if it'd help you pick up your dream girl. You can't tell me you're reading of your own accord and _not_ because of a girl," Sakura said with a smile.

Temari chuckled and raised both arms above her head dramatically. "Fine. You got me!" she cried. "One of these days I will impress her with my superhuman knowledge and make her fall in love with me!"

The humour leaving her voice, Sakura said, "But it's already been three months."

"Two and a half," Temari corrected. She struck another dramatic pose. "I'd gladly wait a thousand times that amount when I think about all the great things waiting for us in the future! No wait is too long for true love!"

"Temari, I'm serious!"

"I'm serious too!"

Sakura sighed and finished off her cup of coffee. "You think everyone is your true love."

"That's not true. I don't think that way towards the girls I sleep with," Temari retorted proudly. "The one-night-stand is such a brilliant invention!"

With a resigning smile, Sakura pulled away from the table and shuffled back behind the counter. "You're such a drama queen," she said, running the tap over her cup. "You should stop fighting fires and make your way towards Broadway."

"No, then you'd have to pay too much to see me. We're friends, yeah?" Temari replied, joining her at the sink, "I wouldn't do that to you. Though I'm sure you'd come to all my shows and buy all my merchandise right?"

"Of course." Sakura rolled her eyes and added, "I'd have a whole row of Temari bobble-heads at the window."

She leaned backwards and relaxed her shoulders. While Temari went on about her fantastic Broadway self and all the romance awaiting her, Sakura smiled and nodded every so often, lost in daydreams of her own. Once the room refilled itself with calm and utter silence, she found her eyes trailing out the window again. The sun was still bright and the weather still beautiful. She felt herself smile again.

Suddenly something outside caught her eye and, in a single moment, her smile transposed into a frown. Faster than Temari could understand what happened, Sakura was out the door. Just outside of her café, a small blonde boy, probably no older than Chika, had strayed to the edge of the sidewalk. Sakura caught sight of a paper airplane lying in the middle of the empty street. Without looking around him, the boy stepped off the safety of the sidewalk. Anxiously, Sakura looked around. The mother was there, at the shop window three doors away from her own, one hand gripping the handle of a baby stroller and the other a cell phone at her ear. She was laughing, oblivious. There was a little girl in the stroller, staring straight at Sakura, flailing her arms and legs happily.

Sakura looked back at the boy. He was already on the main road. Just then a car sped by the intersection, advancing down the street like a predator chasing prey. Sakura lunged for the boy, but it was too late. The car flew by, and she saw that she had miscalculated. She let out a puff of air in relief. The car was nowhere close to where the boy stood. But the boy didn't even blink as he continued to wander over to his paper airplane. Paying no attention to his surroundings, he picked up his plane and stood in the middle of the street to examine it for signs of damage. Sakura saw his round face stretch out in a wide smile. For the first time, he looked around for his mother.

Quick as the last had come, another car surfaced on the horizon. A blue minivan glinted viciously under the sun. As fast as her reflexes allowed her to, Sakura ran.

What happened next was a blur. The fair-haired boy felt the ground below him disappear for a single terrifying moment. The next thing he knew, he had one cheek against the asphalt, crushed by something bigger himself. Behind him he felt a violent torrent of wind slice through the air, tossing his hair and clothes as it pleased, like a great force washing over his body. All the while he saw behind a shadow, for a split second, a towering obscurity of blue. Then he heard his name from what seemed like world away. Feeling the horror well up inside him, he began to cry.

Sakura carefully manoeuvred herself off the boy. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears after coming face to face with almost certain death. She lifted up the little boy by the waist and positioned him into a standing position before pulling her arms over him. "It's alright now. Everything's okay," she said softly. "Don't cry." She heard his mother's horrified shouting behind them and picked up his hand. His cries died to a snivel as he followed her back to the sidewalk.

As soon as he approached, his mother rushed forward and picked him up in his arms, sobbing into his shoulders hysterically. Once the long moment passed, she turned to Sakura and began to thank her profusely. Trying to be polite, Sakura told her not to concern herself with it so much and pay attention in the future. Then, with a smile, she invited the small family into her café for a free drink. At this, the woman's eyes welled up again and guaranteed she would come back next time.

"Good job, Superman. Probably the most extreme way of promoting your business yet," Temari teased as soon as the woman and her children left.

Sakura blushed in spite of herself. "Oh be quiet. You would've done the same."

Temari cocked a brow. "I saw it too, you know. Not as quickly as you, but you didn't see me running out there. I'm sorry to say I put my life on the line often enough at work."

"Well, maybe you just don't have enough good fibres in your body."

"Maybe you just have too many," she said. "You gotta be careful. You can be pretty vulnerable sometimes."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean? You don't think I can defend myself from all the big bad things in the world?" Sakura said with a wounded expression. She flexed her arm and patted her biceps, toned and sculpted twice a week at the gym. There used to be a time she put all her effort to upgrading herself physically, which left her a body to be proud of even though she spent progressively less time maintaining it. "See?" she said, defiantly to Temari, "nothing to worry about."

"If you wanna compare muscle, you know you'd lose," Temari laughed. She brushed past her and sat down in her usual seat closest of the cash register. Sakura rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. "And you know that's not what I'm worried about. Mentally, I don't know...you're like Snow White." Holding an invisible apple in her hand, Temari mimicked in a quivering voice, "One bite and all your dreams will come true." She withdrew her arm and pulled a serious face. "I can definitely see you falling for that. Then you'd have to wait for your true love's kiss."

Sakura straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Glad to know you think so highly of me."

"It's not—" Suddenly the words stopped in Temari's throat. Her eyes widened, glued to the window ahead, and a sly grin began to emerge. "I'd like to be _her_ Prince Charming any day," Sakura heard Temari say to herself. She followed her line of sight, knowing full well who to expect.

But the vision that met her eyes instead brought her such a shock that she thought her legs would give way. She gripped onto a chair behind her for balance, jaw unhinged.

Across the street, with a piece of paper in her hand and a little girl by her side, was a familiar blonde woman. Her face was not quite as Sakura remembered. Her delicate features were troubled just like before, but this time there was a certain contortion of panic hidden beneath. Anxiously she stood at the edge of the sidewalk, glancing around and biting her lip.

"Christ, I haven't seen a gorgeous thing like that since forever! Oh, besides Tenten of course," Temari said loudly. She turned to Sakura and waggled her eyebrows. "It's a shame I'm in a relationship already."

"You're not," Sakura said quickly with a shake of her head as she hurried out from behind the bar. "Anyway, this can't be a good thing, so I better—"

"Oh _really_ now?" Temari interrupted, pulling her down into an empty seat beside her as she passed. "You're a pretty cunning little thing, aren't you?" Sakura didn't like the grin plastered on her face at all.

Trying to pull out of Temari's grasp, Sakura snapped, "What are you talking about? I think she's in trouble—"

Temari's grin fell instantly as realization dawned on her. "_That _is the anonymous chick you spoke so passionately about? The one you broke and took to the hospital?" she said disbelievingly. "Blonde hair blue eyes. Seriously? I don't know whether you're truly lucky or you're just _that _amazing. Oh, oh! She's coming!"

The moment Sakura looked up, her eyes met with Ino's clouded blues. In that instant, a sliver of hope shone through the ice. Sweeping Chika up in her arms, Ino hurriedly crossed the street. Once they arrived on the other side, Sakura let out a breath of air she hadn't been holding.

Inside the cafe, void of customers, Ino allowed herself a moment to examine Sakura's little world with stoic eyes. Chika broke away from her mother and felt around for Sakura. But the room was silent, leaving her no indication of where Sakura might be. Her sightless eyes compelled her to the closest presence. She shuffled awkwardly around empty chairs until she found the warmth she was looking for and clung on. Instantly, she muffled Sakura's name.

Sakura paid no attention to Chika. She could not bring herself to avert her eyes from Ino's intense gaze despite how uncomfortable she was beginning to feel. There was something behind those shielded eyes. An emotion...perhaps fear?

Temari did not miss the charged atmosphere in the room. There as a current not to be tampered with, a delicate balance that threatened to snap any moment. Her eyes cast down at the little girl crushing her face against her leg. Impulsively, she reached out and brushed back her fawn-coloured hair. Immediately, Chika recoiled. Being impaired, her other senses were sharp. She felt the warm hand, but it didn't feel the same. They were rougher than Sakura's, worn from years of fighting fires. A different kind of rough compared to Sakura's years of frying and mixing. In a frightened moment of realization, she stumbled back to her mother's side. The moment Chika collided with Ino's leg, the spell between the two women broke so abruptly that neither could quite comprehend what happened at all.

Sakura got up and approached the quivering child, kneeling down so she was eye-level. "What's wrong, Chika?" she asked soothingly. Comforted by the familiar voice, she all but threw herself at Sakura in response.

"I think we better sit down." Ino nodded, and hesitatingly took a seat beside Temari. Sakura picked up Chika's hand and put her in the seat beside her mother. She quickly retreated back behind the bar and filled up two glasses of water. Seeing their grave faces, she knew this wasn't just a friendly visit.

"I...I got a phone call this morning," Ino began once Sakura sat down across from her. Ino's eyes nervously darted several times in Temari's direction and a long silence followed.

"I...I know I said I didn't want you to...I didn't know where else to go," she finally said. Sakura watched her fingers restlessly tracing the rim of her cup.

Without meeting her eyes, she replied, "It's okay, I understand. If there's anything you need...I said I'd do whatever I can to help. The offer is still there if you need it." She smiled sheepishly, still afraid to meet her eyes.

"I didn't want to take advantage of your hospitality, but I don't have a choice," Ino took a deep breath. "I got a call this morning. From my husband. He found us." By the time the last phrase left her lips, a trickle of saltwater had already found its way to the tip of her chin. Seeing this, Chika shrank a little in her seat as well. Sakura reached over and held her hand.

A breathless silence seized the room. Sakura felt she could almost see the fear creeping up the strong woman she had seen on the first day. Cautiously, she spoke in a soft voice, as if wary of provoking this invisible monster, this crippling fear. "What do you plan to do?"

Ino said nothing. She watched the sole teardrop on the back of her hand. With subtle unsteadiness, she picked up her glass of water and took a tentative sip. Chika did not move in her seat. Sight was not a necessary asset for the child to feel that fear as well. She understood well enough that there was a reason there, a reason why her mother did not reply.

Sakura reached behind her and plucked a cookie out of the basket. She knew double chocolate chip to be favoured by every child in the world. She smiled at Chika and placed the cookie into her hands. The fickle mind of a child kicked into full gear and she lit up like a bulb, obliviously bringing a smile to both women as well. She pulled off the plastic wrap and instantly entered a universe of her own.

Gazing lovingly at Chika, temporarily swept away by the bliss of childhood, Ino finally spoke as if in a trance. "I'd like to talk to you privately, if you don't mind. In the back perhaps," she said. Sakura nodded, glancing at Temari. Temari grinned and patted Chika on the head.

"I'll watch over her so don't worry." Ino bit her lip and hesitated. Sakura stood up and motioned for her to follow her. Inside the back room, Ino didn't stop. Almost mechanically, she pinpointed the location of the pantry and led herself inside. Unsure of what to do, Sakura followed.

Sakura's automatic response was to think something horrible had happened. She fingered the cap of a nearby jam jar, anxiety pouring into her through a pinhole. The pantry was long and narrow, lined with shelf after shelf with enough space for one person to walk through. Ino stopped in the middle of the room and turned one-eighty, stiff as a soldier.

"Right now," Ino said, "I'm probably willing to do anything to get away from him."

Their gaze locked on again with pretentious intensity. Ino dug deep within her own reflected eyes to gather every last thread of courage. The courage she found stripped away her dignity. Sakura could see her wrestling with herself, her body couldn't keep still. Yet, she did nothing but watch the war.

"I still don't know what you were looking for when you helped me on the streets, but I have a favour. I...I don't know anyone else in this town...and I've haven't got any money. So there's...only one thing I can offer in exchange. I just...I just hope...it's good enough. Because I've got nothing else."

Sakura took a step back, alarmed in an alien reality. The war she'd been watching had ended long ago. What brought her back down to absorb her words was the new landscape: Ino's liquid resolve. Her eyes zoned in on Ino's hands, trembling with fright as she tried to undo the third button down her blouse. "Oh god! Christ, _what_ are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed, panic-stricken. She flailed her arms forward and grabbed her hands, just in time to catch a glimpse of the pink lace beneath. "Please, don't do that. I...I don't think it'd help you much if I should...you know...change my mind. About you, I mean. And...and honestly, I don't think you're ready for that kind of thing."

Ino blinked. "I-it's true I've never been with a woman before, but—"

"I'll be happy to grant any favours from you without charge. So please don't do anything rash like that again."

"But this is...kind of a big favour."

"Anything. We'll work it out, okay?"

"I want...to live with you. So I can maybe...put my mind to rest. Just for a short time...hopefully."

Sakura dropped her hands and grinned. "I understand. You should've said so in the first place. I would've offered my place to you anyway."

She hadn't been expecting such a steadfast response. She knew she needed a place to hide, but she was convinced there needed to be catalyst in between. There wasn't going to be a silver platter handed to her, she thought of that much before she came. The disparity of her situation called for the extreme. Anything she wanted she was willing to give—there was nothing worse than being discovered by her husband. Even if it was sex, she wouldn't have refused.

But this woman had a true heart of gold, or she was just masterful in the scheming arts. Ino scrutinized her carefully, looking for any signs of malice. Sakura's green eyes glowed brilliantly, in all honesty and purity. She was accustomed to the distrust, Ino noted. And that was all there is to it.

"You don't have to offer me a thing," Sakura said gently, "but you'll be safe." Still, Ino's eyes were unrelenting. Sakura smiled without a single remote hint of malice. "Let's go back outside. I'll tell you a story. I think...I think you'll understand."

X

"There's a girl I know from a long time ago. A misguided girl, but she never meant any harm. She grew up changing foster homes faster than her emotions. Not that she had much of that then. Every family she went to just couldn't handle her. There was one who even beat her after every other option has been exhausted...so it seemed to them. Whenever her foster families sent her off to school she would get the attention of the principal the very first day for beating up a kid or throwing things at a teacher or randomly leaving the classroom, ignoring the teachers' incredulity. All that lasted till grade six anyway. Then she began to hang out with older kids. Tough kids who she stupidly thought she could relate to. One guy told her his parents were junkies, so he got abused all the time, but he had to keep his mouth shut so adults don't find out. Adults are nosy things, y'know?" Ino accidentally freed a smile on her lips. Of course she knew.

"But the girl," Sakura said, ignoring the triumphant flutter of her heart, "she believed everything he and his friends told her. She only found out later that his story was a lie—he was just a rebellious kid—but she didn't mind. Because she'd longed for this mutual empathy for so long, you could probably say she was hypnotized by her new friends. She took up cigarettes and alcohol, and joined in mindless beatings. They asked, she gave. But this savage fun was short-lived. Soon, her foster parents gave her up and she was packing up again. This time to the other side of the country, in another city. She was alone again.

"Still, miles and miles away, she never stopped her mischief. She drank, she smoked, she fought. Same ol' dirty routines. At first, her new foster parents were nice to her and did everything. But she knew it wouldn't last long. So she sped it up, and became cockier and more demanding. They lost it of course, and starting fighting with her more often. Then came the gradual violence. Her foster mother's slapping her across the cheek became a weekly routine, and her foster father gave her a black eye once. It just made the monster inside her even angrier. Every time she was slapped, she slapped back. Every time she was punched, she punched back. It was an endless exhausting cycle. Finally she couldn't stand it. One night, she tore up her textbooks and notebooks and threw it all over her room, packed up her backpack with clothes and her foster father's wallet, and crept out. At thirteen, she wasn't allowed to drive anything but a bicycle. So she stole her neighbours and booked it out of her old miserable life.

"She drove for days and days and had no idea where she was going. There weren't a lot of gas stations, but she filled up her backpack with food whenever she could, and bought herself a map at one point. She picked a town closest to her location and drove her stolen bike over there. It took a long time, but she made it. She stayed at an inn for two days. On the third day, while buying breakfast, she learned her ex-foster father's credit card had been cut, and she'd emptied out the cash ages ago.

"So she slept on the streets, in a narrow alley with a discarded mattress she'd covered with cardboard. It took her a couple days to finally decide that she was too hungry to care about integrity and whatnot. She was already sleeping on a rotting mattress anyway. For the first person who passed by the opening of her alleyway, she decided, she'd take their belongings and buy herself dinner. Just jump someone, she thought, just like old times. Her first victim was a young man on his way home. The girl sprang up from behind him, grabbed the wallet sticking out of his butt pocket and ran with everything in her. Of course she lost him and managed to buy herself food. And that's how she survived. For the next two weeks anyway."

Sakura took a deep breath and surveyed their faces. Both Ino and Chika had an identical expectancy in their features: furrowed brows, pursed lips, and pink cheeks. Ino's eyes were no longer searching for the relevancy in Sakura's story to her own, nor did she care for the doubts she still harboured. She wanted to hear the end. The intensity Sakura felt from her told her she empathized for the girl, that the girl in her story fascinated her. At this, Sakura smiled.

She continued. "On the third week, the girl went into a slump. The streets became emptier now as Winter came overnight in a snowfall. There were less and less people coming by her alleyway. However, one woman did come by. If only she knew then that this woman would be the one to change her life... Anyway, she was an average woman, around her forties. The girl confronted her as usual and threatened her with a knife she found. The woman didn't move. She smiled, unafraid, and confused the girl. She said hello like it was the easiest thing in the world. The girl just tried to threaten her again. This time the woman took out her wallet, and emptied all her bills. She gave them to the girl, roughly $200 in all, with a warm gentle smile. The girl took it with uncertainty and hid back into the alley. Yet...the woman didn't leave. She followed her into the dark alleyway and stopped in front of her mattress and asked the girl to join her for dinner, treating her as if she was an old friend meeting up at a reunion. The girl agreed of course, since she hadn't had a warm meal in a few days to save money.

The woman took her to a small restaurant on the other side of town. During the meal, she asked all sorts of questions. The girl didn't answer a single one of them but her smile did not waver. After dinner, she asked if she cared to stay the night at her house. She was having a movie night with friends at her house. The girl reluctantly agreed, looking forward to an evening away from the cold.

Then somehow, before she knew it, she started going over to the woman's house once a week for a meal. Then it was twice a week, three times, four times. Free food, heat, and she even bought her clothes. Plus she didn't have to run from cops as much. Remember, there was a lot of stealing she did. Eventually, she practically lived there and it wasn't long before she actually did. The woman enrolled her into school and, though she caused quite a bit of trouble at first, her kindness melted her heart. With her help, the girl slowly pulled away from cigarettes and alcohol. It was a tough process, but it worked.

"So, the girl got back onto her feet and led a steady, strong life. See, it takes one person's kindness to make a difference. One person to change their minds and remove all inhibitions. Everybody needs a helping hand, you know?" Sakura smiled and took a deep breath to conclude her story. She took a quick glance outside and saw that the sun had fled in the short time she ignored it. The sky, overcast and grey, poured a fine misty rain. Despite the breaks in her perfect day, she couldn't help but feel the same euphoric rush the sun gave her. If anything, her mood only brightened.

She stole a look at Ino, who was watching her intently. Sakura blushed at this. Perhaps there is a greater scheme this visit fell under, Sakura thought, even with the tragedy behind it.

"What happened to her?" Chika asked excitedly.

"The girl? She's got a life of her own, nothing to complain about, and no reason to ask for more. In fact, I'd say she's pretty happy."

This time it was Ino's voice. "And the woman?"

Sakura's eyes casted down briefly at the table. There was a flash of sorrow in them. "She died. Eight years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, she had no regrets. She lived a full life and parted with a smile. That's all that matters. I want to die that way too, you know. To feel like you've done all you could and leave nothing but good intentions behind." Sakura propped her chin up with both hands and grinned. "I hope you understand now."

At that moment, the chimes at her door sang and a familiar face popped in.

Temari flashed a rugged boyish smile and got out of her chair to hold the door for the girl behind the glass. "Morning, Tenten."

"Mm, just in time for lunch is more like it," the brunette replied, shaking off her wet hood. After three months, Tenten learned to warm up to both Sakura and Temari. She dropped by more often and reserved her stoic expressions for other occasions. She had a sense of humour, as subtle as it was. The powerful and confident aura she gave off on their first meeting was still prominent, but it soon became obvious that she was easily embarrassed as well and would occasionally turn pink at the ears.

Tenten took a seat at a table beside Ino, and politely greeted her with a smile. "Hello." She stuck out a hand. Reluctantly, Ino took it. "Tenten," Tenten said with a friendly shake. Her handshake gave off a warm, welcoming feeling even though her tone was stiff with professionalism. Ino found this oddly reassuring.

"Ino," she said, mimicking her.

"Are you new here?"

"More or less," Ino replied sheepishly.

"Me too," Tenten said. "More or less. I've only been here for six months, but I've pretty much gotten used to seeing the same people around. You--if you don't mind me saying so—stick out like a sore thumb."

Ino gaped at her, puzzled.

"Oh! I don't mean anything by it," Tenten added quickly. "You're just very pretty, you know. You look like you belong in the big cities. It's just the way you present yourself I suppose."

From behind her, Temari laughed. She placed a bowl of soup and a packet of crackers in front of Tenten and took a seat beside her with a muffin. "Don't make this town sound like such a horrible place to live. Trust me," she said, looking at Ino, "it's much better out here than in those big stuffy places. I used to wear a stupid suit and clackey high heels, waving around an attaché case and a Blackberry. If you can imagine that. I helped with family business."

"I, uh, never really worked," Ino said sheepishly.

"That's alright," Temari grinned, "here, I'm sure Sakura here will take care of you."

"Anyway," Sakura broke in quickly, "there's been a sudden change of plans. So Temari, for once I need a favour. You know you owe me a lot, so regardless of your excuses...I need you to watch the shop for me. You know how things work. And I _know_ it's your day off and you really don't have any other places to be right now." Sakura eyed her patronizingly. Temari opened her mouth to protest, but she knew Sakura was sharp enough to strike down every petty excuse.

"If it makes you feel any better," Tenten said, "I'll stay with you until they call me back at the shop. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Well in _that _case."

"Tenten, make sure she actually serves my customers please."

Temari grinned and ushered them out the door.

X

The little red Toyota slid masterfully into an open lot. Sakura turned the ignition off and dropped her hands into her lap. Her eyes glided sideways at the passenger seat and she sighed. Ino looked around, examining every inch of space surrounding the parking lot meticulously. Paranoia was evident in her subconscious habit of biting her lips.

"Are you all right?" Sakura probed carefully. She glanced at the clock. There was still some time left before the school bell would ring.

Ino dropped herself heavily into her chair, silent. Finally, she shook her head. "I don't know. I just...I'm scared. I feel like he'll just pop up anywhere. It's like a bad horror movie," she confessed, rubbing her temples. "I feel like I'm going insane."

Sakura reached into her pocket and produced her cell phone. She picked up her hand and gently placed it into her palm with a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay. If anything happens...call 911. I'll watch you from here." She pointed to the front entrance of the school in full view through the windshield. "Come out through there so I know you're okay, alright?"

Ino nodded and colour began to return to her pale cheeks. "Thank you." With trembling hands and darting eyes, she opened the door and stepped out.

"Is Mommy okay?" a voice said from the backseat.

"Of course," Sakura replied. "I'm here after all." She smiled into the rear-view mirror briefly at the girl playing with the hem of her shirt, eyes seemingly focused on her hands. She turned back to Ino and watched as she very carefully made her way towards the building.

She held her breath as she waited. Unconsciously, she felt herself inch forward slowly until she was leaning with both hands on the wheel.

A few moments later, the school bell began to echo shrilly to be heard across the block. Children flooded out of every door. The older students gathered into groups, laughing as they walked home together. The younger held their parents' hand waving to one another as they passed and parted. A supervising teacher stood on the front steps of the main entrance with a smile (most likely of relief as the children left the building was what Sakura thought).That was the nature of elementary school that Sakura just couldn't quite recall.

She waited and five minutes passed. Digging her nails into the wheel, ten minutes passed. The playground became empty. Fifteen minutes passed.

Finally, the double doors of the arching main entrance opened. Ino stepped out with a weary smile on her face and Chikao holding her hand. The boy's face was gleaming with childish innocence and a satisfying disregard. He recognized the little red car the minute he took the first step out of the building and made a move to run towards it. Ino pulled him back and gently chastised him, leading him down the stairs.

As soon as they neared the car, Chikao broke free and ran as fast as his little legs carried him. Sakura smiled and withdrew from the vehicle just in time to receive a ramming hug into her torso.

"Chikao! You've grown!" Sakura giggled, picking him up in an affectionate hug.

"I know! I get chased by girls a lot more now," he replied, making a face. "Annoying cooties."

Sakura ruffled his messy black hair. "I'm not surprised at all."

He jumped out of her arms and into the car without hesitation, making sure to give Chika a hug before putting on his seatbelt. Chika smiled at him and he smiled back as he began to speak excitedly about his day. "We had an earthquake drill today! It was so much fun!"

"What's a...errf...cake?" Chika asked.

"Well!" Chikao straightened up puffed out his chest proudly. "It's like...when the floor moves! And you feel this!" He grabbed his sister by the shoulders and shook her vigorously, trying his best to make the proper sound effects: "_R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r...duh-dum! Duh-dum! Fwoosh!_" Chika shrieked.

"Play nice, honey," Ino said, watching them from the mirror with an inevitable smile on her face. Beside her, Sakura laughed.

"Anyway, then you gotta hide under a table and count to sixty with the teacher even though we haven't even learned to thirty yet! But if there's no table, then you gotta roll into a ball and roll on the floor so people will see you."

"I don't get it," Chika said, wriggling her nose.

"It's because it's weird! People will see! So you gotta do it so people can help you because earthquakes are very dangerous."

"Chikao, sorry to interrupt, but are you sure that's what your teacher taught you?" Sakura said.

"Nope! But we're gonna do a whole bunch of drills in our life anyway, at least that's what Mister Teacher said, so I guess it's okay!" Sakura shook her head, still laughing, and turned to Ino. "Do you want to pick anything up from your apartment?"

"We don't have much...but I suppose there are a few things."

Sakura turned the corner and glanced over, just as Ino's expression changed with the new scenery. "You don't have to worry about toothbrushes and things like that. I can cover clothes too. I have a business and I live by myself so I do have money lying around if that's what you're worried about."

"I don't want to trouble you, Sakura. You work hard. No, we should go back."

"Are you sure?"

"He wouldn't be here so soon, right? You can drop me off at that corner. We're almost there. Just turn left after the light."

Sakura turned onto a street of clones. The shabby buildings sat in a row, perfectly identical to mirror each building beside them. There were all kinds of litter lying around and graffiti everywhere, and not all of it artistic or intelligent. The streetlamps hung their heads the same way every other lamp did in town, yet the background gave them a sense of melancholy. There were no cars parked outside. Instead, each identical building had a gaping mouth built into their sides, the gates nothing but bars protruding from the ceiling like teeth. Every car that entered the mouths caught the glint of the teeth, like a sacrifice under a guillotine.

Each building had exactly ten verandas jutting out from its hollows. Some were empty, some were occupied by eyes staring lifelessly down at the empty streets, while others were filled with drunken or high laughter.

The town was small, but Sakura has never ventured this far at the edge of town to this part of the city. She caught sight of a few homeless men. Their eyes locked for the briefest of seconds, but she immediately saw their hopelessness. She saw their lack of interest in life, the difficulty in making through life after throwing away any shred of dignity scrounging for food and becoming savage thieves. She knew how they felt. She saw herself in them, years ago.

She stopped at the corner, like Ino suggested, but not for reasons she expected. Ino indicated where her building was located. She pulled the parking brake near the stoplight at the very end of the street, close enough to guarantee her safety, but far enough in case her husband shows up.

The last thing she needed to do was to make it known to him, in case he were to show up, her affiliation. The street gave her a chilly premonition, and she hoped she was wrong.

Ino stole out of the car and walked towards the building. Trying not to appear paranoid or suspicious, she tried to focus on what was in front of her, yet still found her eyes flitting in every direction. It seemed irrational to her that he would be here, that maybe he was in the mailbox across the street watching her in wait. He wasn't a big man, but neither was he small. Finally, she allowed herself to breathe. He wouldn't be able to fit in that taunting red mailbox.

Inside the foyer, she weighed her choices. The custodian watched her rigid slow movement across the floor towards the elevator. Then she swung back and shuffled towards the stairs like a prisoner. He shook his head and turned back to his paper. On some days she was like this, pulled in all directions by threads puppeteered by dilemma. Even on her first day, he simply could not place a finger on her character. She came into the decaying buildings wearing average thrift store clothing, but he found it hard to miss the sparkling diamond watch on her delicate wrist and the vintage Louis Vuitton suitcase in a bone-white grip. Yamanaka Ino was anything but simple. Trouble trailed behind her everywhere she went. That's what he saw.

Even as she came in now, without the child she left with, the custodian averted his eyes. He felt her eyes on him for a brief second, but it was already enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Like he would soon be part of the stalking troubles.

Ino noticed this, of course, but the aging man was the least of her worries. She paced back and forth debating on the elevator or the narrow stairs. If the elevator broke down, then it would give him time to find her, but the stairs are time-consuming as well. Finally deciding that she was wasting time by walking in circles in the foyer, she pressed button. The wait was nerve-wracking. A man walked past her towards the stairs, rummaging in his pockets for something as he did. If it hadn't been for that one moment of fleeting rationality to see that the man was blonde, she didn't want to think about what she would've done. Kick him in the shin and run perhaps, or likely break down and threaten to call law enforcement.

Back in the car, Sakura turned up the radio at the encouragement of Chikao. He invited himself into the passenger seat and started his own wiggle dance, at the same time flying completely off-rhythm in drumming on the glove compartment. It was Kelly of course, on a station as far from popular mainstream as possible (but still popular enough to have Kelly's songs). Those stations tended to have songs that gave children ideas. Chika danced along as well as best she could in her seat belt. She was too afraid to take it off under unknown rationales. Since her mother carried her out of the apartment that day, she'd been feeling uneasy. As a five-year old, she didn't know why. All that mattered to her was that her mother was scared. But in this moment of liberating dance, Sakura knew the belts did nothing to restrain her imagination as she held her innocence in place.

As much as Sakura tried, she couldn't fall into the same trance as the children. The same catchy sounds, the same tempo and rush the song brought, had a different meaning to her. The music, blasting right beside her, felt far away, far from her mind, far from childishness. She heard but she could not listen. A pulse in her brain caused her muscles to freeze. She sat upright, rigid, though she tapped her fingers on the dashboard to ease the younger minds. There was a fear intertwined with her heart that left understanding as articulate as Chika's. Suddenly the sun wasn't as bright as it was that morning. Why? It should be brighter now that it was after noon.

Ino was taking a long time, Sakura found herself acutely aware; she could see the digital numbers even with her eyes closed. Perhaps she was being a little overprotective. Perhaps she had reason to. What will happen if the next song on the radio isn't Kelly? The DJ was back on air. Chikao stopped and listened to the tone of her voice making a paid advertisement over radio waves.

"Airplanes are cool," he declared after the ad for an airlines company, "I've seen one! It's _really_ big!"

"Do you want to fly one someday?" Sakura said.

"I dunno...maybe when I'm a grown-up! That'd be _cool_!" As an afterthought, he added, "Then I can take Mommy and Chika to a place where they'll be happy _all_ the time!"

"Mommy's not happy?"

"Well, I think she just likes to be sad by herself sometimes. Mommy used to be super happy though. I think she used to be a puppy person. Like she makes babies. We had lots of puppies where we used to live!"

"Daddy didn't like puppies," Chika interrupted with a small voice.

"I told you, Chika," Chikao replied knowingly, "it's only because Daddy was traumatized when he was my age."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but that's what he said. I think it means that he just likes to kick them. That's what he does right?"

"That's horrible!" Sakura exclaimed in spite of herself.

"I told you he's a bad man," Chika said matter-of-factly.

"Only cause Mommy told you that!" Chikao squealed in response.

A sudden hush marked the end of that conversation. The same hush over a natural high after an exhausted topic. Chikao grinned as the next song began to play. Country. He doesn't notice the tension surrounding Sakura as she thought about what Ino's husband might be like. Rich, perhaps, once upon a time. She imagined the couple would be match made in heaven when they were married, the homecoming king and queen type. He'd be tall, of course, muscled with sensitive facial features. Manly, but sweet. Maybe a five o'clock shadow, neatly trimmed to portray a rugged untidy gruffness. He was probably a football star in high school, and later grew from jerseys to finely tailored suits. Rich. Definitely rich. The evidence was there. He is, of course, her perfect match.

However, Sakura still couldn't put the pieces together. Perhaps her imagination missed the loophole in all the possibilities. Maybe she needs to stop thinking. She shouldn't be thinking about this anyway. She should be worrying about her, not writing a prequel in her mind to all this madness. Still...curiosity gnawed at her. The woman was filled with too many mysteries, and she felt herself drawn to them. She had a surging urge to dig deep into her and unravel every little thread of detail about her.

Among that, Sakura admitted, there was also that residual over-protectiveness she felt since the day she found her.

An eternity later, the DJ was back on the radio, talking about the weather and the lack of people enjoying it. Everything was taken for granted, really, Sakura thought lazily, inclined in her seat. The DJ was too simplistic. Her views were boring and the information was nothing new. She wanted to turn it off, or at least go to another channel, but Chikao was enjoying himself.

"Why do clouds eat the sun only sometimes? Shouldn't the sun be dead by now?" Chikao asked thoughtfully.

"No, honey, they don't eat the sun. The sun just hides behind it sometimes," Sakura tried to explain.

"Why?"

"Because it gets sad, right?" Chika joined in.

"Hm...No, I don't think so. The sun is always bright and happy. It just needs a break sometimes. It's like recess, but for a long time."

"Like lunch time?" Chikao grinned. "I like lunch time!"

"Longer."

"What about night time? Why does it always leave when we wear our jammies? Maybe it doesn't like my airplane jammies..."

"Of course not! Everyone loves your jammies, Chikao," Sakura encouraged. "It's just that the sun is kind of...off duty. You know? Like how you go home after school, the sun needs to go home in the evening."

"Where does it go?" That was Chika.

"Where there are no stars on Earth," Sakura replied, adjusting the rear-view mirror out of boredom.

"It doesn't like stars?" Chikao said. Chika followed with a quiet, almost ashamed, confession of, "But I like stars..."

"Well...it does, but they can only see each other in outer space. So that's where it goes. To meet its friends."

"Oooooh...I wanna go to space. In an airplane!"

Sakura laughed and ruffled his hair. He smiled back, puffing with pride even though his raised brows read that he wasn't quite sure why. "One day," Sakura said, "I know you'll fly. You're a good kid. Both of you."

Just then, a blonde head bobbled out of the decaying building. Close to her chest she held onto a purse, and by her legs rolled a dusty brown suitcase. She looked both ways before descending the stairs, as if crossing the street, wary of traffic. Sakura studied her from the driver's seat, running her eyes over her form, her delicate blonde hair, and porcelain skin. She had very nice skin. Flawless even.

The next thing she knew, she heard the mechanics in the car door disengage and Chikao's whining as he was carried off into the backseat. Sakura blinked and blushed. Without a word, she turned the ignition and started the car, only to narrowly avoid a collision upon realizing she had put herself into reverse. Sheepishly, she mumbled an apology to avoid Ino's eyes. The blonde said nothing, too lost in her own dimension to notice. Her eyes kept flying in every other direction. Every direction but the one Sakura quietly hoped for.

"Sure you've got everything you need?" Sakura asked, dreading the silence. The radio was turned off long ago. It made Ino nervous, and no one questioned it.

"I believe so," came the quiet reply.

"Toiletries? Anything we need to buy?"

"Shouldn't you ask how long we will be staying?"

"Well, I'm assuming it will be a while until whenever you feel is safe."

"I don't want to impose."

"It's alright. I live by myself."

"You're not obligated to help me."

"But I'd like to. And I'll only help you as long as you don't mind."

"I don't get what you're arguing about," Chikao complained sleepily from the back. "Mommy you have to say thank you."

Ino looked over at the dark-haired boy curled up in his seat with his head on the empty spot beside him. Her face pinked up, a visible contrast to her fair-skinned face. "He's right, I'm sorry. I should be...grateful," she said without taking her eyes off Chikao. "So thank you."

In spite of herself, Sakura couldn't control a grin. "Anytime."

X

That evening, after dropping the family off at her apartment and giving them a brief tour of her quarters, Sakura rushed off to close the cafe for the day. Though they were best friends, Sakura couldn't quite trust Temari with the keys. She was cancelling the evening shift, not wanting to leave Ino and the children alone for the night. If she were to keep it open, she would have to entrust the bar to Temari, and that could prove to be disastrous from prior experiences.

As soon as Sakura drove off for the cafe, it began to rain. Ino stared out at the fat drops of pelting liquid sliding down the windows. For a brief moment, she felt safe. But right now, she was still alone. Yet...she turned and watched the children bounce on the plush living room couch. Sakura had given them permission before she left.

She placed her purse on the kitchen table and watched as the children played. Chikao apparently was tired of jumping on the couch and went off to fiddle with the massive silver flatscreen crammed into the corner. Finally, she felt restless inside the spacious apartment. She was bored even though it'd been barely five minutes since being left as the only adult in the house.

Ino allowed her eyes to wander, albeit hesitantly. It was as if it should be a crime. That she really shouldn't be here scrutinizing another person's belongings. The kitchen was closest to her, and it felt completely opposite of what she was used to, yet nothing like what she lived in during her past life. Its cabinets were all elm. Modern, with a grey solid surface. A metallic fridge stood by the dividing line between kitchen and living room with an ice and water dispenser installed into it. Beside it, across the countertops, were a mini oven, a microwave, a coffee machine, and a toaster. In the middle was a stove with a flat back surface and outlined circles for elements. Above that was a large metal hood, probably only ever used when new recipes were tested. Dangling beside the stove on string attached to the upper cabinets was a flower-like spice rack. Standing out from the rest of the many, many spices crammed onto the countertop, Ino guessed they were the only ones that ever really needed to be used. Overall, Ino felt like she was standing in a model room in a DIY store.

A short distance away was a short hallway that led to three doors. Spaced in between the doors hung photos in sets of twos, lined up vertically. From a distance, it was obvious they were all black and white with nothing much in common between the sets. Moving closer, however, Ino found that they were all taken professionally of different objects and settings in town. There was also a clock above the door at the end of the hallway, a black and white minimalistic design against the yellow wallpaper. Two of the doors were opened into unlit rooms. One framed the bathroom, and the other a mess of shadows. Probably her bedroom.

"Mommy I'm hungry," said one of the voices from the living room.

"Me too, Mommy!"

She went back into the open area and found her two children sitting quietly, swinging their legs as they diverted their eyes from the cartoons on TV to look at her. It was cute how synchronized they were, but also a bit creepy, thought Ino.

"You'll have to wait until Sakura comes back," she said firmly. Chikao pouted, and crossed his arms. He knew arguing with her would upset her. Instead, he sulkily slid in his seat, further and further until he was on the floor, a puddle, rolling around on the clean, crisp carpet. Chika, sensing the absent warmth beside her, fell sideways into her brother's previous seat. Meanwhile, the cartoons danced away, carefree and corny using every slapstick joke on the record to entertain.

Ino sighed and sat down on the carpet, beside the now spread-eagle Chikao and below the drowsy Chika. She brushed away a wisp of her hair and gently ruffled his hair. Neither reacted. She turned down the volume and watched as they began to flicker into sleep.

X

The blur that met her eyes, the ceiling she realized, was...sparkly. She shifted her arm and found the warmth that'd been there the whole time. Miles away she heard a noise. Metal against a hard surface accompanied by a blitz of crackles. Her eyes roamed around the ceiling and focused in on a clock that stood on the mantelpiece, right across from her. She had to strain to see it as she'd ended up on the floor, spread eagle just like Chikao. It's been nearly an hour. She must've fell asleep.

Gingerly, she sat up, careful not to wake up the exhausted Chikao beside her. She looked up at the figure in the kitchen. Sakura didn't notice her. She had a pepper shaker in one hand and her other wrapped around the pan's handle. Ino envied her. How relaxed she looked in that cloud-patterned apron. She watched her, invisibly, and felt her own muscles begin to relax.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped. Clumsily, she placed the shaker on the surface beside her and reached into her pockets to pick up her phone.

"Hello?" she whispered, but just loud enough for Ino to hear. She frowned and looked up from the stove to the wall space above. "Who is this?" Ino felt her heartbeat slow. What if he found her?"

"I think you have the wrong number. Yes, I'm Haruno Sakura. Temari, huh? I see. Well, how can I help you? I don't do catering by the way. Oh, well then...oh date? Really. A date. Uh...well I'm sure you're a very pretty girl, but, uh...sorry. No, no, I'm just...very busy. Maybe next time. Er, please...don't cry. I'm really sorry. Please understand that I can't remember every customer that--" Sakura removed her ear from the phone, and stared at the screen confusedly. Then, almost angrily, she punched in a number on her keypad, and continued cooking, this time without the carelessness from before.

"Temari," she whispered harshly, "what is _wrong_ with you? That is the third time this week! Don't act all innocent on me. What did I say about giving customers my phone number? She _cried_. Who? ...She's sleeping. What does _that_ have to do with anything? I'm warning you, Temari, if you do this again, I'm going to change my number and hide it from you forever. I don't care if they ask you for it, just say you don't know. Fine, okay, I know you're my best friend. Which is exactly why you should stop. Believe it or not, it doesn't do me any good. In fact, you just made me make a woman cry, and you know how I feel about that. Don't worry, I'll get over it. You really worry too much. Maybe I just don't have the same necessities that you do. Love ya, bye."

After she hung up, Ino watched her sigh. Her back slumped ever so slightly. Then, after an expert flip of the pan, a piece of steak flew onto a plate, towering with its likes. At that moment, Sakura turned and met her eyes. She smiled and immediately straightened up.

"Would you like to help me set the table?" was all she asked. Ino nodded and received a stack of deep blue plates. She placed them around the quaint little dining table, careful not to disturb the single flower in the middle. Once in a while, she would find her attention straying towards the woman at the chopping board. There was an overwhelming need for conversation. But what could she say?

"Y-y'know," Ino tried, "I, uh...I'm really...very grateful."

Sakura turned and grinned. "I know."

"I'm...sorry for what I said in the hospital two months ago."

She shrugged. "Why? You shouldn't be. If you were, I'd be worried. Besides, you still don't trust me, so it's a bit early for that."

"W-well I..."

"Don't worry about it. Trust is something you've got to gain. That's something I know _very_ well. Oh, and please don't worry yourself about the phone call. I won't attack you in the middle of your sleep or something. You have my word for that."

"I didn't mean to...and I don't really think you're that kind of person."

"You don't. Really? Well, that's good I guess," Sakura said, throwing her knife into the sink. "You know, now that we know each other a little bit, I gotta say you're different from the first time we met. You were confident, I think, a bit defensive, but strong. You know what I mean? Don't hesitate to let it out more often."

"Is there anything else I can do?" Ino said coldly.

"No," she laughed in reply, "dinner is almost ready. I heard Chikao likes steak. Oh! By the way I think I forgot to mention... I only have two single beds, one in each room. Lucky for you, I'm completely in love with my pull-out couch.

"Also...I want you to know. The woman died because the stupid girl still believed she would be broken no matter what. One bad day, and she wasn't allowed her cigarettes or alcohol...that was all it took." Sakura bowed her head and tensed up. "Out of utter rage, she went ahead and fucked up the woman's brakes. She didn't mean to kill her. Only scare her a bit. Mom...you know...she deserved the world, and I was a stupid 17-year-old kid...I'll never be able to undo what I did...will never be able to atone for what I did. I just want you to know that I truly want to do what I can for you. For Mom's sake to show her I'm different now. And in a selfish way, I guess it's for my sake too."

Out of nowhere, for no particular reason, Ino began to cry.

* * *

**A/N: Hello and hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I apologize sincerely for my laziness, but as promised, I've produced something for the winter holidays. However I think people will be busy today with the great mobfests of Boxing Day! Either way, happy holidays everyone!**


	3. March to April

**III**

**M A R C H**

**Part Two**

The morning came quickly after an exhausted night. Sakura awoke at 6am as usual. For a sleep-drunken moment, the day felt like any other. The sun poured in through the translucent curtains over the patio slide door and the birds outside sung their usual tunes. It felt like another perfect morning. She sat up and squinted at the light. She didn't have a patio connected to her room. To her left, she saw her muddled reflection on the television screen, and the kitchen half hidden behind a wall to her right. The wall, she soon realized, was the back pane of her couch.

She'd fallen asleep in the living room again.

That was definitely nothing unusual. Assuming she'd worked a long shift the previous night, she untangled herself from her blanket and stumbled out of the living room. Drowsily, she wandered by her room. She took an unconscious glance inside, compelled as if she'd passed by her own reflection or something shiny in a store display. Papers were strewn all over the floor, as well as binders and books, some open and some upside down, piled up from the desk to her nightstand. Even her computer was covered in paper. Post-its. She remembered researching something, but couldn't make the extra effort to remember the details. Even on her bed, she recalled having books stuffed under the pillows.

Her bed. Sakura walked by. Retraced her steps. Something in the corner of her eye needed a double take. She stared from the doorway. There was a blonde woman in her bed. She was sleeping, precariously on her edge, with one foot partially floating on space. One arm hung over the edge. The blankets were mostly bundled in her arms as she held them tight against her, covering only her torso and thighs. She was wearing only a negligee. One that Sakura hung on a hook by the door but never had the chance to wear as she mostly slept in her work clothes (or half her work clothes on when her pants or shirt felt too uncomfortable).

Everything came back at once. Catching herself staring, she forced her frozen legs to move away from the door frame. Suddenly her bathroom felt a lot further than she remembered.

Ino awoke to the sound of sizzling in the kitchen. Her eyes turned to a square, numberless analog clock beside her head. The minute hand hugged the empty space between two black lines. 6: 06. Or something close. She rolled over and allowed her feet onto the soft feathery carpet. On instinct, she propelled herself into the room across the hall. She released an unconsciously held breath when she saw them, her two treasures, curled up beside each other under the comforter. They looked so at peace, so comfortable, that she couldn't help but temporarily forget her troubles and smile. As she closed the door behind her, she wondered how long this peace will last.

"Good morning," Sakura said with a wide grin as she set down a plate. "I hope you don't mind your omelettes plain. I haven't had the chance to go grocery shopping lately."

Ino shook her head. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nope! I gotta run off in a bit. Just take the day to relax, go back to bed after breakfast. I'm sorry if I woke you. I knew bacon was a bad idea."

"Ah, it's okay. I usually can't go back to sleep after I wake up anyway. I could help you do your grocery shopping if you want."

Sakura caught the piece of toast just as it popped up from the toaster at the end of the table. She pressed her lips together in thought as she smeared the peanut butter, took a bite and shrugged, smiled. "I'd appreciate that. Thank you. In that case, I'll write you a list and get going."

Taking the piece of toast in her mouth, she grabbed a sheet of paper from a memo pad on the coffee table and jotted down a list. From her wallet, she pulled out a hundred dollar bill and dropped them both into Ino's hand, along with her cell phone. "Sorry I have to get changed," she said, taking a glance at the clock on the microwave.

Inside her room, she began to explain as she changed. "Speed dial one is my cafe if you need anything. Dial two is Temari if you can't reach me. She has work today though. So if you can't reach either of us, I've set up speed dial three to be Tenten's bookstore. I'm pretty sure she'll be in today. I know it won't be easy to go out by yourself, and its Saturday today so I'm assuming you'll take the kids. It's better to have this. You'll feel safer. I was planning to leave this in your hands anyway, regardless if you'd volunteered yourself or not. I should probably think about getting a new phone for you."

Ino listened as she savoured the taste of the omelette, something she'd forgotten long ago. Hearing her words, she remembered their conversation last night. Sakura had concluded her story bravely, to a stranger like her. She wondered how many other people know.

"What's wrong?" Sakura said. The sound of her voice suddenly so close to her startled Ino. "You've been staring at your fork for a while now. Do you not like it? Do you want something else? You just have to ask."

Ino flushed. "No, I was just...thinking. Thank you anyway." Sakura nodded, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. The blonde took this opportunity to look over the other woman. She was wearing suspenders over a loose blouse, frilled at the edges, opened enough to show off a visible cleavage, clipped up at the elbows. Robin Hood was Ino's first impression. She was pulling on a pair of brown boots, with frayed leather at the edges between the laces and sides, and soles thoroughly worn through. Permanent stains decorated the curves and her laces looked like twine. Old, second hand even. The image of Robin Hood was reinforced. She decided that's what she looked like. That's what Haruno Sakura was: hope for the hopeless.

Now she could begin to see why her phone number was so sought after.

X

"Mommy, Mommy, can we buy candy?" Chikao asked loudly, tugging on the hem of her shirt.

"We'll see honey," she replied absently as she scanned the shelves for the next item on the list. "Chikao, help Mommy find flour. All-purpose please."

"Will I get candy after? Please, please, pleaaaaase?"

"We'll see, honey."

"Fine," he said, puffing out his cheeks, and ran down to the end of the aisle.

"Mommy?" Chika asked. She swung her legs in her shopping cart seat and unconsciously touched her mother's hand to make sure she was there.

"Yes?"

"Can we go see Saku-nee after?"

"Sure, but we can't disturb her. She's working."

"Not even for a cookie?" Chika pouted.

Ino smiled and gently pinched her cheek. "You can't keep taking her things like that. It's not free."

"But she always gives it to me," she replied, head tilted down with unexplained guilt.

"It's because she's a nice person. So don't take advantage of her okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"You'll understand when you're older."

From behind a display of cereal, Chikao reappeared, holding something behind his back as he ran toward Ino. Ino's heart nearly skipped a beat when he almost tripped over his own feet. Be careful, she wanted to say, but her thoughts froze and she couldn't find the words when he crushed himself against her waist. Almost timidly, he looked up from the fabric of her shirt and stared into her blue eyes with his own identical ones. "Here!" he said with a grin, thrusting a large purple plastic flower into her face. Ino blinked and instinctively took a step back to prevent a collision between her face and sharp plastic corners. "I got the flower! It's for you, Mommy!" he says, grinning endlessly.

Ino could admit that she did feel a tinge of guilt when she brought the purple flower to the register. She knew she wasn't supposed to be spending someone else's grocery money on this seemingly petty thing, but she could also admit that there hadn't been an ounce of hesitance in her decision. As cheap as the flower really was, it became priceless as soon as she'd seen it in Chikao's little hands.

"Good morning," a blonde boy greeted behind the cashier. He was smiling, as if he had the best job in the world. "You're new here, aren't ya? I would've noticed, ha-ha! Let me guess, you're the one living with Sakura right?"

Ino blinked. He spoke fast, and she was sure she had a stunned look on her face.

He laughed and took his time in scanning her items.

"News travels fast in a small town like this one. Well, that and I take pride in knowing everything that goes on. Let's just say a little birdie told me. Oh! My name is Naruto by the way, just a simple local gossip, as they like to call me. You know you're pretty lucky that it was Sakura who found you from wherever you came from. She's like the town saint, just like her mom. It's pretty amazing. I think I've seen her at school during my junior year, but that's about it. She was different then. But I'm sure you know all that already. So tell me, did she bring you here? Or could it be a romantic tryst? Whatever it is, I sure envy you! I've never seen her to be such an exciting type!"

Ino stared at him, unable to understand half of what he was saying. The only thing she managed to truly discern was the fact that this man really loved to talk. Chikao was looking at her confusedly, as if he wanted to say something but not sure when to say it. Ino put a finger to her lips.

"So anyway," he continued as he placed the goods in brown paper bags. "You probably know this already, but it's her birthday today. Sakura's I mean. We're doing a little surprise something at her cafe. Gonna spring it on her at three o' clock. You'll be there right? It'll be fun! Promise we won't torture you two too much."

"Uh, we're not together," Ino slipped in awkwardly.

"Oh! Really? I'm sorry! Excuse me, sorry for assuming like that," Naruto said sheepishly. "I guess that seemed like the most likely reason. Oh well, that's alright then. I'm sure the girls at the party will be happy to know that. Still, you should come! We're gonna start filling up the place at 3. Ah, did I already say that? Sometimes I think my brain spins too fast."

"Mommy, can we go?" Chikao said, bouncing on the spot as he clutched onto the side of the island in attempt to get a better look at Naruto.

"Hi there!" Naruto said, beaming at Chikao. "Of course, right? Sakura hates the presence of alcohol. Strong stuff anyway. She loves mixing though, but never for herself. So don't worry about that. Just don't give the kids any of the punch."

Ino nodded out of polite gesture. "I'll think about it."

X

At home, Ino began to rearrange Sakura's shelves. Home, she thought, it was comfortable word, and something she could get used to. She found a pad of sticky notes in Sakura's room and helped herself in labelling each cupboard. One for instant food, one for grain products, one for drinks, one for bowls, plates, and one for cups. She took her time in unloading the groceries as she listened very carefully to the dialogue playing on the TV. The children had found a movie on the shelf beside the television that piqued their interest. Since it was Disney, Ino decided to be lenient, yet she remained paranoid of any foul language. It was something about a princess and New York. She couldn't be too sure of the possibilities of negative influence. Always good to play it safe, she thought.

It was almost 12 o' clock. Her decision was firm, despite Chikao's earlier protests. She didn't want to be in the way.

Lunch was served just a few minutes after the organization was done. By then it was nearing 1pm, and all she could bother with was instant ramen. There weren't many in the kitchen, as Sakura had no reason to be eating what she must consider crap when she was surrounded by food all the time. In fact, she probably just ate at the cafe, where everything was accessible. Her fridge was empty this morning. Probably never bothers to restock, probably never cooked at home.

She was at the dining table with Chikao and Chika, watching the movie, explaining it along the way, answering all their whys and hows as they ate. The cell phone in her pocket suddenly began to ring. The ringtone was a default, the most basic and most common. I expected something more, Ino thought with amusement. She glanced at the fluorescent screen and read "CAFE" printed in dotted digital letters.

"Hello," Ino said without the usual inquiring tone.

"Hey, how was shopping?" Sakura said. Ino could almost visualize her smile on the other end. The one that appeared too often but undeniably comforting.

"Alright."

"What are you doing now?" Her voice was crisp, clear, without a hint of background noise. She must have free time right now, Ino thought. The clock corroborated. It was right after the lunch rush.

"Nothing. Just watching a movie."

"Oh, that reminds me. There's a box on the shelf, a red one. Looks a bit mouldy I suppose. I don't think you'd want the kids getting into that. It, uh, contains some presents over the years given as a joke," Sakura said sheepishly.

"I see."

"Well, if you don't have anything to do, do you mind coming down to the cafe?"

"What for?"

"Well...I kind of forgot something this morning. Would you mind bringing it to me? It's a notebook, those standard black and white speckled ones? I'll make it worth your while, the kids too of course."

"Alright then," Ino said dryly.

Just a little over two, Ino mentally calculated, there won't be any people for this party yet. It'll be fine. Relax. In truth, she wasn't even entirely sure why the idea of the surprise party bothered her. For one thing she was certain though: she simply cannot burden her in any way on her birthday. The money for the plastic flower, she'll find a way to pay it back even if she had to sell everything. However, there was also the open sexuality to consider. What if her kids saw? Or heard? How can she explain Sakura's deviance? There was nothing wrong with it, of course. Maybe. Improper? She tried not to think that way. It was her lifestyle, and it doesn't make her any less of a good person.

"Should I bring Chika and Chikao?" Ino said in a lowered voice.

"It's your decision, I wouldn't mind. In fact, I'm sure they'd want a little bit of the surprise too," she laughed lightly, as if at an inside joke she had in mind, coyly though and careful not to let her in on it.

"Okay." She hung up, and said to the two kids with their eyes on the screen, "We're going for a walk."

"To Saku-nee's?" Chikao said eagerly. "Can I show her the flower? Please, please, pleeeeease?"

"When we come home. C'mon, turn it off, Chikao, let's go," she said, patiently holding up his little red jacket.

"But he hasn't told me what happened yet!" Chika whined, swinging her legs on the couch violently.

"Don't you start, Chika. C'mon be a good girl, he can tell you on the way. We'll only be there for a little bit anyway." She glanced at the clock and felt the rush of time against her. She wanted to be there and back before the surprise party began. This phobia, she realized then, really had nothing to do with sexuality. It was her fear of crowds, ever since this game of cat and mouse began with her husband. Crowds attract people. People...who knew what sort of people were there, inside them, blended into one homogenous mass. It all came down to the prevalent paranoia in her head.

But she steeled herself as she stepped onto the sidewalk, notebook in one hand and Chika in the other. Chikao ran in front of her excitedly, describing in detail the best he could the scene where their movie left off.

"There was a dumb prince who came into the daddy's apartment and started singing. He's still wearing his puffy funny clothes. The princess made a weird face and then, and then, he tries to rescue her or something like that. I don't get it though 'cause she didn't look like she needed help."

Prince Charming and happy endings, Ino thought, sounds wonderful. Sounds so far away. It could never happen in real life, she rationalized to herself. There's no one on earth generous enough to ride that white horse just for her. Except Sakura. So it appeared. In the greater scheme of things, Ino wondered who was the real benefiter of this one sided exchange. And then a thought struck her.

What if...she was working for someone? Her husband. A conspiracy. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, frozen with the fright of this thought. Chikao broke his run several metres ahead and turned back with questioning blue eyes. "Mommy? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said. Her voice sounded mechanical even to her own ears. Her head turned stiffly to the turn at the end of the street. Just around the curb. Sakura's cafe was there.

"Can we go yet?" Chika asked, shrinking a little in her arms.

"Yeah...yeah l-let's."

X

Just outside the cafe, Ino was stopped at the traffic lights. That's when she noticed the words above the sloped red awning for the first time. The name of the coffee shop. Cygnus Rouge. Sounded like a nightclub, was Ino's first thought. Why not use plain English and call it the Red Swan? Initially, this thought brought a smile in her face when she pictured Sakura as the madam of an archaic brothel. There was cunning involved, and somehow that didn't quite suit her. But what if...what if it was true? That Sakura ran a sex trafficking business? That she'd lure women into her home and bring her to the headquarters of what appears to be a standard cafe. There were probably rooms in the back, chambers and hidden switches, or a tunnel running from here to the border. What would become of Chikao and Chika? They were only children. They can take her away, but who will care for them?

The light blurred for a moment as it switched to red. The pedestrian crossing chirped, pulling her out of her imagination. Her legs were iron despite the breeze along her skirt. She felt as if her joints no longer existed as she carried her legs one in front of the other. The sound of each step was thunder to her ears, her attention focussed entirely on the distance between her and the cafe. Fear crept in again. She safely made it across with Chikao's impatient tugging. He ran out in front of her to the open glass door. Her heart stopped.

Sakura stepped out of the cafe and crouched down to receive Chikao into her open arms. She giggled and roughed up his hair. No matter how she looked, Ino could not find reason to believe she was a threat to her. Perhaps that's the problem. This was all a dramatized charade. Sakura looked up and smiled at her, green eyes even brighter in the sun. She scooped up the grinning boy and walked toward Ino, who stood dumbfounded with Chika in her arms.

"How was your day?" She asked politely. "Any trouble at all?"

"Fine," Ino replied with a hardened expression. She thrust the notebook into her hands and began to turn away.

"Wait." She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and couldn't hold back the flinch. Automatically, she brushed it off, but she rooted herself and looked her in the eyes. "What?" she said, harsher than she intended. Sakura took a step back, and laughed with apparent nervousness.

"I, uh, thought you'd stay," she said sheepishly, dodging Ino's eyes. "It'd be nice if you would...you know, help me out. But if you don't want to, that's fine too. You must be tired."

"Mommy, why aren't we staying?" Chika whispered into her ear. "Is it because we were watching TV? Have we been bad?" Her voice was winded down, crestfallen. Ino turned her face away from hers and said nothing.

"Saku-nee," Chikao said, pulling on Sakura's shirt, "I think Mommy's sad. And I know why."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Sakura frowned, automatically fearing the worst.

"Yeah, but promise you won't be mad, okay?"

"I promise."

"Well...at the store today, I found a flower for Mommy and I made her buy it so I could give it to her. But she said it was your money so it wasn't nice to use it. I'm sorry..."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. "It's not your fault, Chikao. I'm sure that made her really happy, and she deserves it right?" He nodded vigorously. "Then don't worry about it."

"But Mommy said..."

"Just pretend I bought it for her okay?"

Chikao grinned, "Okay!" He wiggled in her arms in order to be let down and ran to hug Ino's legs.

"Guess what, Mommy?" He said, beaming with all the sunshine of a six-year-old. "You don't have to be sad anymore! Saku-nee said she bought the flower for you."

"What flower?" Ino asked, too confused by her previous paranoid thoughts to think. Chikao giggled at her confused expression.

"The purple one!" he shouted, a little offended, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ino said nothing and looked at the flushed pink Sakura. Her mouth opened and closed in attempt to explain herself, but no words came out. In the end, she just shrugged and motioned them inside as casually as she could, yet unable to hide her awkwardness. Ino watched her from behind, studying her. Even with a malicious past, she could not be as kind as this right? She was single as well, which meant there must be a flaw for her to pinpoint. Perfection doesn't exist, and she was too close.

"Say, Sakura," Ino said, "the cafe...did you name it?"

At this, Sakura turned around and smiled wide, as if she'd been waiting for this moment all her life. "No, it's my mother's genius. She bought this place shortly after finding me, and it's meant to be a tribute to me." She set down a cup of steaming tea before Ino, and two glasses of orange juice for the two kids babbling to each other about the menu.

"I don't really see the connection, unless I've misinterpreted the name," Ino said, absently tracing the bumps of the floral pattern on the handle.

"Grammatically, I have to admit I don't really know whether it's right or not. It's supposed to mean the Red Swan, but she'd always prefer things a little fancier. I guess she believed I was like a swan in a way. Personally I think I'm more of a frog if she was talking about metamorphosis. I don't know what red means though, she never told me. It was like some inside joke she kept to herself. Maybe it's just meant to sound good after all."

"Red has a lot of symbolism to it doesn't it?"

"Yeah." She looked down and hesitated. "Sin," she sighed, "that's probably what it is."

Ino sipped her tea. "Maybe. We should probably go now. It's almost three. After school rush hour right?"

Sakura looked at her, a dash of sadness flickering by. "Is something wrong? Look, about the flower..."

"No it's not that. I'm just tired. I want to go back and rest."

"Oh," was all Sakura could say. Her features fell in genuine disheartenment. "Well, that's okay then. Be careful on your way home."

Suddenly a gust of wind burst into the entire room. Ino felt ice in her veins despite the warmth of the sun. A mass of bodies flooded through the doors, timed perfectly, just as Sakura turned her back, focused everything onto the woman in front of her. She spun around as noise erupted from every direction around her. Ino shrunk in her seat. Her children perked up, instantly swept up by the excitement. Voices clamped down on Sakura's head, what's meant to be congratulations and celebratory greetings sounded like fish out of water.

"ALRIGHT!" One voice rode right over the rest. "Everyone shut up! Presents at the corner, and for fuck's sakes, just CALM DOWN. Sit, dammit!" It was Temari. Sakura immediately covered Chika's ears while Ino reached for Chikaos. As the mass began to disperse, she mumbled something about breathing space and Ino realized that it was too late. Still, pulled by an invisible force, she jumped out of her chair and didn't even think of Chikao and Chika, who were, though hesitant at first, enjoying the attention they were receiving. Before she knew it, she was right back in her seat, held down by the shoulder by Temari's muscled arms. Tenten joined her at her table, smiling but calm.

"What's going on here, Temari? You have the entire town here! How am I supposed to serve my customers with you guys taking up all this space?"

"Easy," Naruto interjected from the doorway. He pulled the door shut and flipped over the "Open" sign. "You don't."

Ino scanned the room. Eyes were following her slightest move, down to the minute wave of the odd strand of hair. She felt small, under the intense gaze of at least twenty people. Some of them she'd seen around town, but was barely recognizable. One man, who stood out like white against black to her, passed her every day on his jog as she took Chikao to school. She felt him trying to bore into her soul, this mixture of jealousy and curiosity. She met his wide eyes, his long eyelashes. They were distracting and apart from the rest. Uncomfortable, she looked away.

"Temari, what's going on?" Sakura demanded a second time. Her frown deepened. Ino could almost believe that she wasn't acting. Almost.

"Sakura. Seriously. This is like, the second year you forgot. It's March 28th."

"March...28th..." She scrambled to get out of the surrounding crowd to confront the small puppy calendar hidden beside the espresso machine. She mumbles something to herself, lets out a sigh, and pulls away the string keeping her apron in place. "I'm sorry guys. It didn't occur to me at all. Been so busy lately and all..."

"You're always busy," someone interjects. Sakura looked up. The man with the long eyelashes. "Let's have some fun, yeah? Chouji brought cake!" Ino's eyes follow his pointed thumb to a round boy pushing tables together in the corner.

"Alright alright," she said warily despite the stretched grin on her lips, "let's cut the cake then."

No one moved. Ino felt the room's eyes on her again and allowed herself a silent sigh. The entire room was quiet, and the children confused. Quiet, Chikao helped Chika off her chair and slipped off towards the man rearranging the tables. Ino immediately started out of her seat, but was once again held down by a hand. Tenten's this time, to her surprise.

Sakura panned the room, sliding past everyone's eyes until she found Ino. Smiled, and understood. "Just say so if you're curious. This silence gives me shivers. This is Yamanaka Ino. Her kids over there, Chikao and Chika." There was a stir as people closed in a tight ring, squeezing through to tease the children, treating them as if they've never seen fraternal twins before. Chikao didn't mind at all, and as long as she felt his presence around her, neither did Chika.

"So what are you, Sakura-Papa now?" someone said teasingly. It was man, staring at Sakura with his arms folded, sporting a ponytail and a smirk.

"There's nothing going on. Between us I mean. So—"

"Liar," Naruto sang from his post at the doorway. With a wink, he added, "Kiss her for us, Sakura. I'll get a picture and you'll never have to answer to obnoxious women again."

"Not funny," Sakura said, casting a nervous glance at Ino's iced over expression. "Cake time!" she tried. The crowd was not impressed. "Honestly, guys, what do you want me to say? I'm just temporarily lending my place out to her."

Temari cleared her throat and the discreet whisperings subsided. "Alright, alright no more jokes. Obviously Miss Yamanaka here isn't amused. She's straighter than Naruto is gay so let's just cut the damn cake." A few voices groaned, hoping for drama. "At least Sakura here is still up for grabs," she added to the people around her as an afterthought.

"You have no idea how much trouble you cause me, Temari," Sakura murmured.

"You have no idea how much worry you cause _me_. If you don't find someone soon the town's gonna go berserk. It just doesn't make sense, y'know?"

"And it _really_ isn't anyone's problem but mine," Sakura replied. She took the plastic knife from Chouji and smiled warmly at Chikao, who was peeking over the table to see the cake with Chika's hand in his. Chika wiggled uncomfortable, partially hiding herself with Chikao's body. Almost everyone had their curiosity pinned on the two children. She didn't need her eyes to feel overwhelmed by voices closed on her.

"Anyone would be lucky to have you, Sakura," Chouji whispered to her, his face in an embarrassed pink. "Take a break once in a while, at least for yourself. We're all looking out for you. You know that."

Sakura only smiled as the room suddenly became overcast by the blinds in the windows. The only light was filtered in through the door. Amidst the translucent darkness, one tiny flame popped up over the cake. Ino peered through a window in the crowd and heard Chikao's excited squealing as he tried to describe what was happening to his sister. Suddenly Temari came in and hoisted Chikao into the air. Ino was sure her legs would give way when, despite the protests from the boy, Temari placed him on a nearby chair. In turn, Tenten carried Chika in her arms, trying her best to help her mingle with the atmosphere. Chika, strangely, didn't fight back. They laughed and giggled with those around them. Ino relaxed. Tenten was one of the few she knew she could trust. Chika must've sensed this as well.

She pulled out a chair at an isolated corner and studied the crowd. Sakura was hard to figure out, she decided. Popular and kind, it felt as if the sun outside shone just for her.

"Hey."

"It's you," Ino said nonchalantly. "Guy with the weird eyelashes."

His bowl-shaped head bounced violently with the vigor of his laugh. "My name is Lee. Rock Lee. Glad you remember me," he said with a blinding grin. "I see you almost every day. Didn't know you were friends with Sakura. So you live with her?"

"Yeah," she replied, mind drifting elsewhere.

"She's mine you know," he said.

"Really? I thought she was..." she hesitated, unsure which word would be the least offensive.

"A lesbian?" His booming laughter filled the room, earning a few glances. The crowd, however, seeing it was only him, turned back to the cake distribution. "Yeah, that's what she thinks."

"So you lied."

"No, no. She just hasn't realized it herself yet." Ino gaped at him, but the smile on his face told her he was completely serious.

"You see," he went on, "you're an attractive woman. You know that, I know that, and I'm _pretty_ sure she knows that. It's probably better for all of us if you don't delay this phase of hers."

She raised a brow. "How long has she been...attracted to women?"

"Probably as long as I've known her. Which was...since she came here. It was love at first sight for both of us you know," he said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"It's...probably not a phase."

Suddenly, he stood from his chair and struck a pose. Then, in a voice loud enough for Ino to want to hide under the table, he said, "But Rock Lee will never give up, do don't you dare say that! As long as I live there is hope for me!"

"Lee, what _are_ you doing there?" Sakura shouted from across the room, feeling a surge of unexplained anxiety. "Stop scaring Ino! You know it'll never happen! Come here and get your cake! You too, Ino." Though angry, she ended her last phrase with the same kind smile. This was a smile especially reserved for Ino. She wondered if it was just sympathy.

She wondered what she'd done to deserve this woman's generosity.

**A P R I L**

Two weeks after the celebration, Ino's life gradually adapted into new routines. Every morning she would walk the kids to school then walk to the cafe. She'd drop Chikao at the elementary and Chika in the newly opened daycare, run by a friend of Sakura's. She first had to convinced herself that Sakura had no malicious intent in taking her under her wing. After countless imaginings, countless tests, and attempting to push her buttons, she decided to let go. She asked Sakura to hire her shortly after, for her to work for her food and shelter. Sakura wasn't pleased, which gave her doubt. Perhaps, she thought then, that she was hoping to make me pay back all the money in the future with interest. Fortunately, aside from an almost heartbreaking expression and a single attempt to convince her otherwise, she gave in.

Ino had never worked in her life. It was something to get used to, but she had to admit that it was fun. Cleaning and manning the cashier was better than sitting at home alone, waiting for everyone to come home. Home. She'd been saying that recently. It sounded different, almost refreshing. Home had become a place she could forget to be temporary. She'd remind herself that Sakura too she was only temporary.

Working at the Rouge, as some people called it, allowed her to meet many new people. She made a few closer acquaintances, laughed and chatted freely, over nothing sometimes. This was socialization, something she had to pick up from the back of her brain, something missing from her life since high school. In turn, she learned a few things about different people as well. For example, Naruto, who came into the cafe every weekend, was currently in a long-distance open relationship with Temari's brother in the big city. Shikamaru, who came in every Wednesday morning, said they were looking to eventually settle down despite the openness of the relationship. They understood the physical needs when their partners were absent, and sometimes Shikamaru would indulge Naruto. Ino had a hard time grasping the 'fabulous gay life' as Naruto called it. She'd also learned that Naruto's adopted parents were homosexuals as well, and travels around a lot due to work (they're archaeologists). Unexpectedly, Naruto became one of her closest acquaintances. She could call them friends even.

Tenten and Temari dropped by the most. Temari would buy breakfast every morning, and stayed for a long time on her off days. Tenten would buy lunch once in a while, but usually came in with Temari. One of the first things Ino learned (that shocked her out of her seat), was that the two were not, in fact, a couple. Evidently Temari tried hard, but Tenten never acknowledged their relationship. Tenten confided in her. The truth was that she was confused. Ino couldn't relate but she could see why. On the rare days she came in for lunch, they'd talk for her entire break. They found trust in each other, but at the same time knowing there were secrets, doubts, feelings, and thoughts, that can't be shared. Neither minded. It was enough to have someone to talk to. Tenten, who'd run away from the city as well, had more in common with Ino than she would've guessed.

One quiet Wednesday afternoon, just after the lunchtime bustle, Ino found herself alone as she cleaned the storefront. Diligently, she wiped down the tables until they sparkled, and served the odd customer that came in. Sakura was in the back, preparing and experimenting with a batch of samples of her new recipe to be served later that day. Nothing was different.

"Ino," Sakura said as she stepped out of the kitchen. She held a spoon in her hand and pointed to it excitedly. "Would you be my guinea pig? I swear it's probably the best yet."

"What is it?" Ino replied dubiously, though in truth she never doubted the quality of her creations. Regardless of how questionable the contents were, the results were usually good enough for seconds. Usually, as in no more than half the time.

"Just a blackberry crumble." She held out the spoon, other hand underneath ready to save whatever should fall.

"So normal?"

"Well...I wanted to see what I could use dragon fruit for. I got a half dozen of them on sale. There's also raspberry. Oh, and mikan. Someone gave me two. Remember that nice old man who tied his llama up on the lamp pole outside? The farmer outside town."

Ino looked at her then dared a glance at the crumble in her spoon. "That looks disgusting."

"It doesn't taste too bad though. Really. I already checked for poison."

Just then the chime sounded. He was a man neither recognized under his sunglasses and a baseball cap. "Probably a tourist," Sakura said, thrusting the spoon into Ino's hand. "I'll take this one."

"Good morning to you, sir! How can I help you?" Sakura greeted with her best service smile. She let herself inside the bar area to the cash register and awaited his order. Ino watched the man from the booth furthest from the register, where she pretended to be wiping the table and rearranging the condiments. There was something about him, under that shady get-up and the worn down jacket of a homeless man, that didn't sit right with her.

Sakura felt the man's gaze through his black lens. He was studying her, no doubt, but it wasn't a new experience. "What can I get for you?" she repeated.

"Coffee," he said in a voice that barely reached her ears.

"Is that all for you, sir?"

"Coffee," he said again. He peered at her over his sunglasses and met her eyes for a brief second. Suddenly, he lunged forward over the countertop and grabbed Sakura by the collar. "And my wife."

"S-sir! What are you—?"

He pulled her in so close she could feel his musty breath burn through her skin. "And my kids," he said gruffly. "Chikao. Chika. Don't play dumb, bitch."

A gasp in the corner, and the clanging of wood on tiles. The man looked over at Ino and sneered. He began to let go of Sakura's shirt. Sakura, noticing his reaction to Ino with a sudden realization over her, grabbed on to his wrist and threw herself over the counter, ignoring the fallen baskets as she cleared through the finished marble. Her weight took the two of them to the floor. They tumbled around the floor, trying to pin each other down. He wasn't prepared, and didn't realize she was trying to hold him down until almost too late. At the last minute, he rescued himself as the fought across the cafe's tiled flooring, moving and toppling tables and chairs. Then, they'd run out of room and he hit his head hard against a structure behind him. He didn't know if it was the bar or the wall, but it was all the time Sakura needed to hold down his arms. She straddled him, hands at his neck. Unintelligible noises came from his lips, and strangled words in the most obscene form. Sakura screamed at Ino to run, and immediately she fled to the back room, to take refuge by the pick-up window.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura muttered. "You're a sick, sick man." She reached up and risked throwing off his sunglasses. He had a refined face, five o' clock shadow, the characteristics of a pathetic rich boy without direction, and a dull anger in his empty eyes. He was flushed in the cheeks, drunk but not completely. He could be attractive, Chikao had his nose, yet he was on par barbarians from another planet. But revealing his face was the one mistake Sakura couldn't afford. Despite everything, he was still stronger and bigger. Though he wasn't built like an ox, he had the strength like one in his grip.

He flipped her over, sneering, roughly patting the side of her face challengingly. "You think I don't know? I've been following you two for days, Haruno Sakura. Ino's living with you now, hey? What, you like her? Is that it? You're in lo-o-o-o-ove with her?" Sakura said nothing, did nothing, so not to provoke him. "She's ho-o-ot, ain't she?" he went on with a prominent slur in his taunting. "I got good taste, hey? Does she make you ho-o-o-ot? You wanna fu-u-u-uck her? Is that why you let her stay in your house for free? 'Cause god knows she's got nothin' on her but that smo-o-okin' body of hers."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Sakura said as she desperately tried to free herself. He held on to her wrists tight beside him, but she could almost move her leg. The more he spoke the more rage she felt. He was insulting Ino, he was insulting Sakura, and everything she stood up for. All she knew right then was how badly she wanted to hurt him, to make a grown man cry.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't move. She stopped listening. His voice slowed, rose, shouting. She watched him raise a fist in slow motion. Then, like lightning from the sky, he struck threw her into a temporary black world. She screamed, but her voice was drowned out by a large hand clamped tight around her mouth. "Where. Are. They?" the man said with venomous hostility. "Where are you hiding them?" It was as if he was suddenly sober. "You can have the fucking whore. Just give me back my goddamn kids!" His moods were completely in polarity. He was becoming unstable, Sakura knew.

She felt it then, something she knew would be coming. He had both hands around her neck, pressing down. From the one good eye and the one teary eye she had, she could see his blur, red with anger.

The oxygen was draining quickly. Then, it was over.

The air rushed into her lungs and she gasped like fish on land, one greedy gulp of air after another. She felt his weight shift off of her and a thud beside her. Exhausted from struggling with him, she finally fainted.

X

Temari rushed through the hallways as fast as she could. She was completely disregarding the displeased doctors and nurses, as well as any policies. She was searching through wards, hoping with all her worth that she wasn't lost.

When she'd found the correct room, she found Sakura alone, sitting up in her seat with bandages around her neck and her right eye. Her left eye was closed. She was plugged into an iPod on her lap. Temari walked up to her bedside and gently pulled one of her earphones out.

"I came from the precinct as soon as I could. They had to hold me in for interrogation. Where is everyone?" Temari asked, breathless.

Sakura looked at her, smiled and shrugged. "Dunno. Tenten gave me this and left. She's got some pretty good tastes by the way."

"Yeah I know, she's pretty awesome huh? And everyone else?"

"Naruto and the others came by, but they all had to get back to work since they left so abruptly. Ino was with me most the time. She just got called down to the precinct a little before you arrived. It looks like they're going to put the bastard behind bars."

"How are you feeling?" Temari said as she put the earphone she pulled out into her own ear.

"Pretty good about myself actually. I feel like a hero."

Temari laughed. "You dive in the middle of traffic to save a little boy, you give out your home to a completely helpless girl, and _now_ you feel like a hero? If I got so much as five cents every time you did something heroic, I'd be goddamn filthy rich."

"Well it's different," Sakura shrugged, "I almost died."

"You sound proud."

"Well, I guess I am. A little." She grinned and began to tell Temari what happened as far as her memory allowed. Temari made a variety of faces along the spectrum of awe and anger. When Sakura repeated what Sasuke said about Ino, she'd shot up from her seat on the edge of the bed and publicly declared the man's future castration. The other patrons in the ward were appalled.

"You must like her a lot," Temari teased after her story.

Sakura stared at her hands. "I wasn't thinking. It just sort of happened you know? Like with the little boy."

"But you do like her a lot don't you?"

"I don't know. I like her company," she replied.

"Would you go out with her?"

"Given the chance, who wouldn't?" Sakura said matter-of-factly in justification. "But she's not like that."

"Who knows, you've done so much for her. Given the chance, who wouldn't go out with _you_?" Temari said, crossing her arms confidently, "You need to just grow a pair and admit you like her."

"Look, it'd no big deal. I would've done the same for you, for Tenten, for anyone."

Temari shook her head. "It's not just this. I mean, yeah this is big, but knowing you, you probably would do the same. But, Sakura, I'm talking about _everything_ you've done for this girl. Honestly, how much of your Mom's-Dream-Cafe Fund have you taken out already just to impress her, just to make her kids happy, make her happy?"

"You're looking too much into it, Temari."

"No, you're looking too little into it."

"Alright, alright, just stop. Look, I really don't think it matters whether I like her or not," Sakura said. She looked straight ahead, at the cheap preserved flower on the wall, avoiding Temari's probing eyes.

"Why not?" Temari challenged. That was the question she least wanted to hear, and Temari knew it.

"Because. She's different, okay? I like how things are right now, and I don't want to make things awkward. Imagine the kids end up with two moms. What do you think will happen to them?"

"That's pretty far ahead. It doesn't have to be that serious."

"Well," Sakura sighed, "I think it does. It's either all or nothing. I wish things were different, and maybe they will be. But right now, that's just how it is."

Temari grinned. She reached over and covered her hand over Sakura's comfortingly. "You don't like her. You're just a little bit in love with her."

Sakura looked at her, horrified. "Isn't it a little too early to say that? You're just being presumptuous now. I'll figure it out, alright? Let's just...leave the labels aside."

"I'm just looking out for you, you know that right?" Temari sighed and reached over to give her as much of a hug as she could manage without hurting her. "You're only twenty-five goddamn years old. You should be out there doing things! You should be looking for romance, not limiting yourself with work. You've been settled in far too long. You shouldn't even be thinking about it but you've already done it. The least you could do for yourself is finding someone to look out for you, just like you've been looking out for everyone else."

"I know, Temari," Sakura replied softly, "I know. We've been through this before. But maybe I just don't want an adventure in romance. Maybe I just want to achieve my own dreams. Maybe I just want to be a hero, as you put it, for people because I want to, because I'm capable. Right now I don't need someone to look out for me."

"You're not invincible. Just _please_ give it a try. If not her, then choose someone else. A casual one, just someone you could talk to."

"I have you, don't I?"

"You do, definitely, but it's different. Just...please. You're making my hair turn grey. Stop _grounding_ yourself for god's sake. That's what married people do, not bachelorettes."

"Alright," Sakura finally said, "I'll do something. Just not her."

"And why not?" Temari challenged.

"She's special," she shrugged in reply. "She deserves someone better. Someone she could actually fall in love with, you know? A nice man who could love and provide for her and the kids."

Temari shook her head. "You're a dumbass. That's all I can say. I don't even know if you're being modest or you're just being an ass."

"I'm being serious."

"Yeah, I know. That's the worst part."

X

**A/N: Hello everyone! Firstly, I'm a thousand times sorry for being so late in updates. I seem to have more of a life than I used to nowadays, haha. I spent the latter part of my February and two weeks of March writing for the Paralympic Games. That was pretty exciting, contrary to popular belief. So while exploring my own possibilities for the future, I'll continue creating a better future for my characters. My next update will probably be SCABL. Probably. I guess it depends. I recently released a short piece, a poetic prose I guess, not quite prose but not really a poem in my opinion. I had a lot of fun with that so I'm thinking of trying another one, a more structured one this time. Anyway, questions comments concerns just drop them in a review or a private message. **


	4. April

**IV**

**A P R I L**

**Part II**

"What are you thinking about? Your eyes looked all glossy there."

Time passed like years inside the hospital walls. She was finally allowed to go home. She had questions rolling around her head during her stay, unanswered. After her confession to Temari, she'd shut herself up and spent her days out of sorts. Most of her time was devoted to pondering her own feelings, what to do, what will become of them. She was terrified. There was nothing to do but wait. Even she knew all her speculations did nothing for her, yet she kept trying to consider every side of the dice and hope for the best. Temari nudged her for the third time.

"Nothing!" Sakura replied, louder than she intended, disconcerted from being dragged out of her thoughts. "I'm just looking forward to getting out of here that's all."

"Oh I bet you are. I recommend you start moving your ass and getting your stuff packed. The sooner you do it the sooner we get home to your fair-headed princess," Temari said. Sakura dismissed her statement with a turn of the head, and shouldered her out of the way as she reached for her bag.

"Where is Ino, by the way?" Sakura asked.

Temari smothered a laugh. "Dunno, watching the Rouge I guess. She's been pretty dedicated while you were gone. It's actually pretty refreshing seeing someone in that little cafe of yours beside you. All you need now are nice uniforms. The shorter the better if you care for my opinion."

"Not getting into any trouble I hope?" Sakura said, ignoring her last statement.

"If you mean trouble as in harassment from customers, phone numbers and cheesy pick-up lines, it doesn't look like anything she hasn't dealt with before by the looks of it. Besides, most people think she's your girl. So it's mostly tourists and hermits or part-time city-dwellers who try."

Sakura zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, manually reconstructing her facial muscles to remain neutral. "That's stupid."

The duffel bag neatly fell into place by Sakura's hip. Temari stood out of the way, bending slightly at the waist in a playful bow as she passed.

During the drive home, Sakura looked over at her friend in the driver's seat of her little red Toyota.

"Temari," she said quietly, so seriously that the car was dramatically slowed. Drivers behind them, alarmed, intuitively sounded their horns and dove into the parallel lane. Temari immediately pulled to a stop along the curb.

"Yeah?" Temari replied. "What's wrong?"

"I need to know something. It's been bothering me for a long time. Who saved me?"

Temari quirked an eyebrow. "You can't guess?"

"That's why I'm asking."

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a bunch. It's pretty obvious if you think about it. There were only three people in the room."

"Are you sure there wasn't a third party who came charging in to help me?"

"Sakura, please, I'm don't know whether to laugh or cry. Let me emphasize my point. There were _three_ people in the room. And only three until the police arrived. You, that creeptastic bastard, and Ino. Does that make it obvious? Process of elimination, hun."

Sakura played with the idea in her mind.

"_Why_ do you have to think about this?" Temari said.

"Ino," Sakura finally said. Her eyes were wide. Her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment.

"Don't look so shocked. I'd really question her if she didn't do what she did."

"I think its funny how no one really told me what happened that day. In a sad way."

"Ah, well she was pretty shaken up when we found her. Everyone was there-the cops, the ambulance, the firefighters—myself included-and half the town. The cops got to the bastard first. He's behind bars now, waiting for his life sentence I hope. Anyway, I followed the paramedics toward you and Ino. They put you in the stretcher right away. I stayed with her. She looked exhausted and dazed. Before long she was sobbing up my uniform, laughing and crying at the same time. You can't even imagine! So I asked her what happened but she was absolutely hysterical. Instead, she just pointed to this bloody item on the floor. Get this. She'd hit a bulls-eye on the back of his head with your frying pan," Temari said. She threw her hands around in abstract gestures out of excitement she felt recalling that day.

"Yeah he was bleeding a bit." Temari shrugged it off like trivial gossip.

"Oh," was all Sakura could say.

"Oh and Sakura? Tenten told me something interesting a few weeks ago. I thought I should share it with you."

"Yeah?" Sakura looked on her friend's face with concern when the atmosphere dropped with sudden weight.

"Well...don't take this the wrong way but Tenten and I have been thinking. Ino probably doesn't want a relationship right now after all of that drama the other day, so, yeah..."

"You want me to forget about her right? I know. Trust me, I want to. But right now I just want to take care of her. I just can't shake off this protectiveness I feel. You know what I mean? She's stoic on the outside but you still can't help but want to help her, can't help but want to hold her and tell her everything will be alright. It's temporary anyway so just let me have my fill I guess."

Temari patted her on the shoulder with a small smile. "Yeah, I know," she said. "The question is: are you willing to give someone else a shot? There's been someone asking about you recently. A regular at the bookstore. She's new here and she doesn't have many friends but I think she likes you."

"Do I know her?"

"I don't think so. She's probably too scared to visit you at the Rouge. I met her once. She's really shy. In a really cute way though," she added with a grin.

"How could she like me when she never met me?"

"Jesus, Sakura. Well, I guess you would never understand since you've always been the centre of attention. That's okay. Give it a try! How 'bout it? Tomorrow night? I could set you up. It's just one date. If you don't like it then fine, just indulge her. No. Indulge me. And Tenten. And yourself for that matter. Have some fun! Okay? Then it's settled."

Sakura shrugged. "Sure. I probably don't have much else to do. What's another day off gonna hurt?"

"Exactly," Temari said with a triumphant smile. "I do miss those bagels though."

X

Her luggage was all of one red duffel bag, filled with clothes and some of the gifts she'd received during her stay. Temari had been kind enough to move the rest of the gifts the day before. One really cannot begin to understand the extent of their popularity until a stay in the hospital. Over the week of her stay, her friends, neighbours, and people she'd fallen out with, people she couldn't even recognize, had poured onto her all sorts of gift baskets, fluffy animals, fruits, soups, soaps and other things she really didn't know what to do with. There was only so much fruit a person can eat and so much soap a person can use.

Ino greeted them at the door with the two kids jumping up and down on either side of her, shouting in what could've been Swahili for all Sakura understood. Temari left as soon as she said her hellos on the pretext of having a date with Tenten, but the coy smile told Sakura otherwise.

"It's great to have you back. Now Chikao and Chika will finally shut up," Ino said with a weary smile after sending the children off the watch TV. "I made some sandwiches. I thought you might've been hungry. I'm sorry I'm not a very good cook. Sit down and relax a bit more. I'll get you some food."

Sakura smiled and followed her into the kitchen. "Thanks, but you really didn't have to. And I can get it myself. I have enough to thank you for already. Besides, I think I've been resting for longer than its healthy I'm sure."

"No. This is the _very_ least I can do after all that you've done for me." Sakura studied her face quietly. Despite two weeks gone by, Ino seemed as shaken as ever. She seemed just as worn, ashen, as before. Sakura reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

"You're the one who saved me."

"No," Ino replied. She dropped whatever she was doing and spun to face her. "You're the one who saved me. If Sasuke didn't attack you, you wouldn't have needed to go to the hospital. It's my fault in the end. I've caused you a lot more trouble then I'm worth haven't I?"

"No! I...It's not your fault! You're not causing me trouble at all so stop saying that. No one deserved to go through what you had to."

Ino smiled the barest of smiles and stepped forward to give Sakura a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. You really are too kind. That's the best part about you but sometimes I think it's the worst part as well." Sakura felt an eruption of blood blossom into her face. It wasn't the first time a girl gave her a peck on the cheek. Surely a small gesture like that shouldn't give her the wings she felt sprouting out of her ankles. The words she wanted to say were garbled in her throat. She staggered a little and cursed herself for being dramatic. Ino-who'd turned away to retrieve her sandwiches-tuned just in time to catch the silly grin on the other woman's face.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Sakura snapped out of her daze and shook her head, wide-eyed like a guilty child. Words were still not coming to her. She took the neatly arranged plate from Ino's outstretched arms and scurried away back into the living room. By the time Ino made it out of the kitchen, she was already sitting on the couch listening to Chikao's chatter.

"And then, and then, the big dragon made the whole mountain EXPLODE!" Chikao said, making gestures with his arms.

"What are you talking about, honey?" Ino said as she took a seat beside Sakura. Sakura pressed a finger to her lips. Ino looked over and saw Chika curled up with her head on Sakura's lap, breathing gently as she slept. Sakura held the plate just above her head, awkwardly trying to eat.

Chikao rolled around on the floor, giggling. "Saku-mama, it's okay. Chika sleeps like a rock! So anyway, then there was a whole bunch of dragons and, and..."

The rest of his words dissipated into Sakura's imagination. She looked at Ino, dumbfounded and confused. Ino glanced back and shrugged. "I think he's talking about that movie Temari and Tenten took them to see. What's it called...something about dragons?"

"No that's not it. I think," Sakura said slowly, "he just called me 'mama'." She shook her head and did the one thing she thought she would never do. Before Ino could say anything, she jumped in and interrupted Chikao. She called his name. He kept talking. She tried again. He kept talking.

Finally she said, "Chikao I'll trade you a cookie for 5 minutes of silence."

Immediately the little boy cut his long review of the movie short and perked up. He shot up from his spread eagle position on the floor into sitting cross-legged. "Okay!" He said, putting on his best innocent and obedient face.

"First," Sakura said. His smile didn't waver. "Answer me this. Did you or did you not call me 'mama' just then?"

"Yup!"

She looked at him very seriously, unable to find the right words to explain her thoughts. "Chikao, you can't call me that," she finally said.

"Why not?" He tilted his head, genuinely confused if not shocked. "At school the other day we learned about our families! And my teacher said that in a family there is a mommy and a daddy, but sometimes people only have a mommy or a daddy. Well, since Daddy doesn't love us anymore, I asked my teacher if he counts as a daddy." Sakura glanced over to see Ino listening intently, biting her lip. "But then, but then, we had to describe our families. A lot of my friends' daddies go to work and my teacher said it's because they have to make money to take care of us. Lots of mommies go to work too though. So then I asked my teacher if Saku-nee counts as a daddy, but he said that 'daddy' is for boys. So Saku-nee is like Chikao's mommy."

"Chikao...in order for me to become your mommy I'd have to marry your mother. Do you understand that? It's not just a name. It's also a relationship between me and your mom, between you and I, and between Chika and I."

"Can't you just marry Mommy then? I don't really get it but can't I just call you that for fun?" Sakura blushed to the tips of her ears. She glanced at Ino, who seemed unfazed though she could not meet her eyes.

"Didn't your teacher think it was strange that you have two mommies?" Sakura asked.

"Nope! Is it supposed to be? Mr. Hatake even gave me a thumbs-up for asking him! Oh, oh! I finally learned his name! Aren't you proud, Mommy?" Ino nodded stiffly. Sakura froze in horror.

"Wait. Your teacher's name is Mr. Hatake?" He nodded jubilantly.

"Do you know him?" Chikao asked.

"Oh yeah. He was a friend of my mother." She made a face, disbelieving in that he'd become a first grade teacher. Of everyone in town, he was the last man she'd expected to be teaching children. "I'll talk to your teacher. But you have to know that you can't just go around telling people I'm your mommy." She sighed. "You're a big boy now. You have to respect other people's feelings. When you're older you'll understand that being someone's mommy is a lot more than calling them by that name."

Ino didn't say anything.

"But I like calling you mama," he pouted. "Chika does too."

"Ino," Sakura said quietly just out of Chikao's earshot. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few days ago, I guess," she replied, nonchalant.

"This doesn't worry you?"

"Clearly you're more distressed than I was," she said, sounding almost offended. "I told them you wouldn't like it, but they kept doing it anyway."

A long silence settled into the room. Chikao withdrew himself from the conversation, instead falling asleep on the floor on top of the television remote. Ino reached down and plucked it from his arms. She threw a thin blanket over him, one she'd made a habit of keeping on the couch for moments like this. The television was switched off and the silence grew thicker. Finally, Ino drew a breath. "They were so excited for your return that they were practically bouncing off the walls all day waiting," she said with a small smile. Sakura put the empty plate on the floor, careful not to wake the girl. "You know," Ino said, "this place has become so familiar in the last two months. It's going to be hard to break the news."

Sakura immediately whipped around to look at her. She opened her mouth, but thought better of it, and slumped back down to her previous position. Not once had she considered the fact that Ino, Chikao, and Chika would really be leaving. She hadn't considered what would become of her until this moment. She was right. It was all too familiar. "You know you don't have to leave."

Ino felt her eyes. She stared at Chikao's sleeping figure, unable to meet them. "No, I do. I heard about what you were working so hard for. Your mother's dream...that's sweet."

"That doesn't matter anymore! Because I...," Sakura felt her stomach twist into a knot, "I-I can always save up. F-for the renovations and all. All she ever wanted was a name for Rouge. To make it so special that people would come from around the world to try her food and feel her love that still lives today. It sounds cheesy, but if I know my mother, that was all she really wanted—to share love. I mean, I can get there eventually if I continue to work hard. But where will you go?"

"I'm free now, thanks to you," Ino smiled. "I can go wherever I want."

Sakura's heart fell like lead. "Yes, I suppose you're right." With effort, she managed to smile back. "I can't really stop you, can I?"

"It would be too much of a burden on your part."

"You know," Sakura drawled. "It's...not like...I don't _like_...being called Chikao's mother. I mean...I'm honoured. I really am...but it wouldn't...be fair. You know? It just...wouldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"It wouldn't be fair. To either of us," Sakura repeated in hopes she wouldn't have to fully explain herself.

Ino shrugged. "I guess not. You'll never be able to find someone if you had to carry around a title like that. As if the town's wasn't misunderstood enough."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah...you wouldn't be able to find a real daddy for the kids if the world keeps thinking we're together, right?"

"I don't really think I want to try my luck again. I'll be happy as long as they're happy," she said warily. "It's been a tough battle."

"You're a tough woman. You shouldn't have to spend the rest of your life alone while you raise two kids."

"Right now I don't really mind. It's better than having to trust a man again."

"Stay with me then."

Ino turned and met determined eyes. She didn't say anything. She didn't know how to respond. She haven't even figured out her own emotions yet, much less be able to convey them. Sakura, seeing her astounded expression, looked away sheepishly. Only now did the she realize how the passion in her voice could be easily misinterpreted.

"As friends. That's what we are right?" Sakura said sheepishly. "I-if you like, I can charge you rent. I promise I don't mean anything by it. I won't hurt you or the kids or anything. Besides! I agreed to let Temari set up a blind date for me. In fact, I have one tomorrow night! But I promise I won't bring anyone home that might...inconvenience you. I just...I hope you understand I really have no ill-intentions in letting you stay."

Ino laughed albeit awkwardly. "No, of course I know. After everything you've done for us, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I still continued to doubt you. For now, I don't have much of a choice. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay here a bit longer. Once I find a stable job, I promise you'll have your normal life back. Wouldn't that be great?"

No, Sakura thought. That's the last thing I want. Yet saying so would just scare her away. In reality, she just nodded.

X

The afternoon passed in simple bliss. Dinner was made at home, with fresh ingredients dropped off by Temari on her way home, a favour called in by Sakura in exchange for free bagels the next morning. Chikao and Chika watched closely, amusing themselves with menial tasks like putting fruits into the bowl for fruit salad as Ino cut them up. Sakura tended to most of the dishes while Ino stood by and learned a few tricks on top of her preparation assignments. Dinner was eaten by the television as they watched a princess movie picked by Chika. After much complaining from Chikao, he gave in and sat quietly, even more absorbed than his sister was as he described the events to her. His storytelling was becoming more and more accurate, Sakura noted. After the movie, they spent the rest of the evening talking through a game of Go Fish. Chikao tried his best to fill Sakura in on every detail of his life in the past week. Many of those who heard the news of Sakura's incident came by the cafe as well as the apartment to give their condolences and their lemon meringues. She wasn't kidding, Sakura realized, when Temari said that most of the town thought them to be one big happy family. Ino pointedly said that explanations just didn't sit with anyone. She wasn't sure how to react, and eventually she began to just accept it.

Unknowingly jabbing Sakura in the heart, she had joked, "They'll get over it once you have your life back. If not then let them pretend we had a 'divorce'. People are silly."

The enjoyable evening grew into night. Then it was bedtime for the two kids. Ino tucked them in and sat by idly while Sakura recited to them the popular version of The Ugly Duckling. Once they were asleep, the two women found themselves standing in the centre of the living room. As soon as sleep was brought up, disagreement began.

"You just came back from the hospital, you can't possibly believe me horrible enough to let you sleep on the couch," Ino said.

"You're not horrible. As the host, I've allowed you the bed. It doesn't feel right to me to just take it away."

"Well I insist."

Sakura frowned. "Then I decline."

"Sakura! You need rest!"

"I've rested enough in the hospital. I'm telling you. Don't worry about me."

Ino held up an open palm to signal silence. She took two steps towards the couch and allowed herself to be swallowed by the soft beige leather. She sat there without a word, arms crossed. It became obvious that she was serious in a way that if Sakura was to disobey, she would personally shovel her off with a bulldozer if she had to. Sakura would've put up a fight had she not been so tired. For tonight, she retreated into her room for the first time in over a week, slumped like a patronized child.

That night, Sakura sunk into her bed for the first time in longer than she realized. It felt familiar against her back, in an unfamiliar kind of way. Her blankets were too thin for the night, yet she was much too tired to substitute for a warmer one. She made a mental note to change it in the morning. Sleep came in a dreamless haze. She stirred a little when a flicker of light touched her eyes, so fleetingly that the thought of it lingered for just a moment before it was discarded and forgotten. It didn't take long for her to fall back to sleep. The night was cool. So it was supposed to be. Her mind stirred and began to rationalize, forming blurry thoughts, synthesizing them and tossing them around. This rationalization woke her, leaving her startled. She wasn't cold at all, yet all she had of the blanket was a corner gripped tightly in her hand.

Her eyes opened and closed, she flinched when something poked her. She inched back into her pillow and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Just as she suspected, a dark frame was curled up against her, tangled in her blanket. Right beneath Sakura's chin was the mass that poked her in the nose. Hair. Sakura carefully manoeuvred herself into a sitting position in a way that would not awake the sleeping figure. Chika? She wondered. Her eyes followed the curves of the shadow as it shuffled closer to the heated spot Sakura had left behind. No, the size and shape could only classify as a woman. A fully grown woman. Sakura could feel every muscle in her body tighten. Without even thinking, Sakura stood and leapt over the footboard. Even the light _thump_ didn`t wake the sleeping blonde.

She stood in the middle of her living room, feeling cold and stupid for what happened. The clock read a little past 4. She circled the empty couch with its blankets hanging over the back. It wasn't until half an hour later, when she'd settled into the plush fabric of the couch that she began to weigh the options of staying or leaving. The obvious choice without a doubt would be to stay. It was a perfect dream come true. Yet her instinct was, frustratingly enough, to do the right thing. She didn't even take a moment to consider whether she was an illusion. She slapped herself. Perhaps, she thought as she drifted off into restless sleep, it was the fear of losing her that proved much stronger than the fear of never having her for herself.

She awoke to the smell of coffee in the air. Sunlight already found its way into the living room, like a familiar friend looking through, watering her living room with warmth. She awoke to a distant humming, a melody without direction. She liked this comfortable setting. It was a red-orange dream in front of her eyes.

Then, a voice struck like thunder out of the blue. "Good morning, Sakura. Did I wake you?"

Sakura rolled over and blinked, wondering if the image before was an illusion. Surely there wasn't a beautiful blonde standing above her with a pot of coffee and her polka-dot apron atop minimalistic pyjamas. Such details could only be a trick of her deprived mind.

"I made pancakes. In case you were interested."

"What time is it?" Sakura asked, her eyes following Ino back into the kitchen. Despite the evidence that she had already, in fact, woken up, she was doubtful that she would be receiving a reply.

"6: 38. I know you get up earlier than any other normal person, but since it was your first night home, I thought I'd let you sleep in for a while." She walked out again, without the apron to cover the skin she showed in her negligee, carrying a plate of pancakes, just enough for two. Sakura got up to join her at the table, feeling awkward in her sweatshirt and shorts.

As soon as they were seated, Ino spoke again with hesitance. "I'd like to apologize."

"For what?" Sakura said, staring at the pancakes with a child-like joy. The last person to make her breakfast was her mother. How many years has that been? She wondered. She felt warm, happy, and extremely touched. Ino's little gesture brought back so many memories. She could've cried.

"You know, last night?" Ino studied Sakura's expression, a shining similar to Chika and Chikao's. She smiled and took a pancake between her fork and knife and moved it onto her plate, as she would've done for her children. Sakura grinned in a way that Ino couldn't help but find cute.

"What about last night?" Sakura poured a glass of orange juice for both of them.

"I didn't mean to go into your room," Ino said, sheepishly looking down at her food.

"It's okay, it's no big deal."

"It...must've been kind of awkward for you."

"A little bit."

"Thanks. For doing what you did."

"Well, I don't really know what to say," Sakura said nervously, "I just did it impulsively."

"I guess it would've been even more awkward if you stayed."

"Yeah. That too."

A cloud of silence drifted in, sitting awkwardly at the table. Then, just as half a glass of orange juice was making its way down Sakura's throat she felt the mass of liquid shoot back up when Ino said something entirely unexpected:

"So tell me about that date of yours." Her tone was even and casual. It was a question for the sake of small talk, yet Sakura was bouncing in her seat trying to cough out the last of the orange juice, face flushed pink. Ino, alarmed, shot out of her seat and showered her with paper napkins.

"It's just a thing," Sakura said, taking a deep breath after calming down, "I promised Temari. Apparently it's a terrible thing that I'm single. This one's a regular at Tenten's bookstore."

"You don't know her?"

"Nope. I guess it's kind of a hit or miss kind of thing in this case. I've never been on a blind date before. It's hard in this town, you know?"

"It's...interesting so to speak," Ino said. "I've been on a few myself. It really depends on who's setting you up. I believe it won't be too bad if Temari's your matchmaker. Tenten's a wonderful girl after all."

"I guess you're right. But tell me. What's it like?"

"Um, well, maybe I'm just unlucky but on the few I've been on its usually it's not so much a date as an awkward meeting and a goodbye kiss. Guys would go on and on about football or computer tech stuff, or work or school. One man spent the whole night on his stupid Blackberry. It's probably different for girls though. I think."

Sakura could tell from the uncomfortable shift in her eye that Ino still wasn't too used to talking about girls in that sense. "I was raised extremely religious," Sakura remembered her saying once, "and we were taught to condemn...deviants like you,"—it took her a while to choose the right word as to not offend her—"but to be honest, I've long stopped believing. Even so, it's only now that I really see how ludicrous it was. I mean, you're the closest thing to an angel I know." That was the closest she ever got to her personal feelings. Every time she recalled her words, she'd feel warm bubbles rising up her stomach.

Back at the table, Sakura courageously brought up a subject that'd wandered through her mind several times since she had her talk with Chikao. "I was wondering. Doesn't Chika and Chikao miss their father at all? Even though he's an ass and all, but they must've had lots of great memories together. Before things went downhill I mean. Once Chikao told me he'd often have fancy French food like foie gras. Once upon a time. What I'm trying to say is," she said, trying to be as casual as she could, "how could Chikao just call me what he did...just like that?"

Ino shrugged, but her eyes were casted elsewhere in a glassy forlorn gaze. "'Cause he's six? Sasuke...well sure they had moments together but he was never really around all that much to begin with. He started having an affair with a girl who lived a few floors below us when Chikao was one. Just before I became pregnant with Chika. Foie gras and things like that were common because of the amount of money my parents left behind. So even though we had money at one point, Chikao was never spoiled by anyone until you came along, hard times or not. So I thank you for that," she added with a gentle smile. Sakura returned her smile and not a word more was said. She enjoyed the quiet comfort of simply being with the other woman. Not wondering how long it would last, not wondering if this would be her only chance, not wondering anything at all.

X

The afternoon flew fleetingly. The sky was high and blue, dotted with shape-shifting cumulous. Sakura took the three around the town, something she'd never had the chance to do up until now. Every time one of the children so much as glanced at a store or landmark with curiosity, Sakura steered them towards it. They took their time making their way up the shopping district. Sakura's wallet size diminished thoughtlessly. New toys, new clothes, school supplies, snacks, and more found passage into the trunk of Sakura's Toyota. After that they recharged at local ice cream and pizza parlour, fit for a warm spring day.

Along the way they met a few more of Sakura's circle. Chouji and his family ran the pizza parlour. Kiba and Shino-a crazy-in-love couple with opposite personalities-ran the only pet store in town. Sasori, a quiet man who seemed to neither like nor dislike children, owned the toy store. Beside him was a general goods store selling mostly kitchen and dining ware run by Deidara, a close friend of Sasori's as it turned out. Very close indeed. A few blocks down was a large cosmetics and clothing store run by Haku, a shy but helpful and very feminine man. In fact, Ino still had trouble believing, even after leaving his store with bags of his recommendations. His partner Zabuza, a huge man whom they met for a brief moment, was the co-owner of the store and was tasked with all things administrative. Miss Kurenai and her husband owned the clothing store adjacent to Haku's. It was slightly smaller and targeted towards children. Finally, there was Sai, a local semi-nomadic artist. They'd met him in the park drawing a man lying on a bench. Sakura introduced him as Shikamaru, who soon woke up to the sound of voices buzzing around him. He didn't own much other than a high IQ, Sakura explained, but most of his money was made by milking the stock market, which has worked better for him than any job so far. From the way he spoke and the subtleties in his body language, Sakura didn't miss his advancements on Ino. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice or care.

Then again, he was a good man despite the laziness. She played with the idea, but thought better and decided not to encourage it for purely selfish reasons. They jealousy rooted from her own thoughts surprised even herself.

After that they drove home so Sakura could prepare for her blind date.

"Dress or pants? Or skirt?" Sakura asked. Ino-who was sitting on her bed watching her pace around with clothes by the armful-had agreed to help her pick an outfit but never really realized how big her closet was.

"It depends, I guess. Where are you going for dinner?"

"It's been arranged at some semiformal place by the sea. I've never been there. I've never been to a place like that on a first date," Sakura said not bothering to mask the annoyance in her voice. She knew whose fault this was.

"I'd choose a dress." Sakura, on cue, strode over to her closet and began pulling out all the dresses at once and tossing them on her bed. Ino sorted through them.

"I don't even know what colour I want to wear!" Sakura said, throwing her hands up. She pulled out a few jackets that joined the pile. "Why do I own so much crap?"

"I think green would go great with your eyes. Or red. Black. I like this polka-dot one."

Sakura laughed, the sounds muffled by the clothes above her head as she rummaged through boxes for accessories. "I don't like polka-dots. Not on me anyway. Something about me and polka-dots don't mesh well together. It feels like having punctuation all over my body."

Ino smiled. "How about plaid? This one is nice."

Sakura lifted her head, her face brushing against the course wool of her winter jackets, and looked out through the door of her walk-in closet. "That might work."

She walked out of the closet a few minutes later, having changed into the dress, and spun around for Ino to see. "What do you think?"

"You look different."

"Different good or different bad?"

Ino shrugged. "Just different. But maybe it's a little too casual?"

"Oh," was all Sakura said before returning to her treasure trove of clothes.

Suddenly the patter of tiny feet entered her room, breaking the concentrated silence in the air. Sakura poked her head out of the closet with a pair of leggings over her shoulder and a numerous plastic hangers in her hands. Chikao and Chika stood in front of Ino, hands held tightly as usual.

"What's up, honey?" Ino said, addressing both of them.

"Nuffin'," Chikao replied. Without warning he jumped on the bed with his sister in tow, jumping between the spaces where the dresses were laid.

"Mommy, Chikao was making me do weird things again," Chika said with puffed up cheeks. "He said there was an erff-cake so I rolled on the floor like he told me to! But you know what Mommy? There was no erff-cake! He just laughed at me!"

"It's not erff-cake, love. Its earthquake," Ino said with soft laughter. "And if there was one, you'd feel it under your little toes, okay honey? Remember that next time."

"Mommy, Mommy!" Chikao said, jumping onto her back, "come watch TV with us!"

Ino smiled as she peeled his arms off her shoulders to let the air back into her lungs. "I will in a bit okay? I'm helping Sakura right now."

"Oh, oh! Can we help? Can we help? Please, please, pleaaaase? What are you doing? Is it fun?" The two childish voices melded into one mess of questions. Ino tried her best to answer them and calm them down at the same time. Sakura watched from the closet with a silly grin on her face. In moments like these she truly felt like an outsider peering in on these priceless moments. She didn't mind. To be part of such personal warmth would be too much to ask. Sometimes she was even grateful. She could see Ino relaxed, temporarily without doubts. She could see those little smiles she couldn't hide, the bright glow in those tired eyes. She shines almost literally. These were things she kept from Sakura. She was a stranger to her emotions after all.

Sakura understood that. She just couldn't deny how much she hated that fact.

X

The first meeting was awkward. Neither said much other than the usual courteous greetings. In fact, they almost shook hands. A minor lapse on Sakura's part, really. In all honesty, she was prettier than she had imagined. Then again, she hadn't indulged a lot of time imagining in the first place. While driving to her apartment to pick her up, all Sakura could think about was how much she wanted to go home and forget the date. She was sure that she'd rather suffer an entire life as a bachelorette than go on this date.

They took a table at the restaurant on a patio above the sea. Spring brought on a perfect warm evening and a salty breeze. Just behind them, inside the restaurant, live music played out ambient melodies.

"This is beautiful," her date remarked shyly. "Thank you."

Sakura nodded. What should she say? Should she be witty? Should she be smart or charming? Her personality escaped her so suddenly. She just wanted to go home.

"So, uhm, Hinata," Sakura said, "what brought you to this quaint little town?"

"Ah…well, i-it's work mostly, I guess. I'm k-kind of a teacher, but I couldn't find any work at home."

"Oh yeah? Elementary school?"

"Yes. But not really? Um, I mean…I'm like a student teacher. Sort of. I help Mr. Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura abruptly sat up. "You're an assistant to that useless pervert?"

"Y-you are familiar with him?"

"Yeah. He taught me English back in high school. I can't believe he's teaching first grade now."

Hinata looked surprised. "Small towns are amazing. You know everything about everyone."

"That's almost true," Sakura laughed. "I can't believe this coincidence. You teach Chikao then?"

"Oh yes! He is such a charming boy," she replied. "He's very smart. He knows how to please people to get his way, that's for sure. Ah…he is the son of Miss Yamanaka?"

"Mmhmm. He really is something amazing. He has a sister too you know? A year younger. They almost look like twins. He treats her like a queen. Most of the time."

"So…he is…p-practically your son isn't he?"

Silence.

"I-I was v-very surprised…t-to be honest," Hinata said in a quiet voice. "That I could be sitting here with you. R-right now. I didn't even think you would be…a-available. M-much less c-consider someone like me."

Sakura smiled. "You came quite highly recommended by Temari. And she was right. You are cute. I'm not disappointed to say the least. Anyway, rumours can get pretty out of hand so I guess you can say its part of the reason why I'm not seeing anyone. It's not easy getting dates when everyone things you're married with kids. But I'm not sure I'd want to go out with anyone that doesn't mind me being 'married with kids' either."

Hinata giggled. "Then I'm glad that's sorted out."

**A/N: Yay! Update! It's been a long time right? You're probably wondering where I've been. If you care at all. My first formal reason is that I had school. Second, I had a writers block I believe. But my unformal (unforgivable?) reason is because of video games that take up free time. I'M SO SORRY. I'd also like to apologize for this update as I don't think it's very good. Hopefully the next one will be super duper awesome to make up for it :D**

**And if you haven't noticed, I changed the name of this story as well as the name of my pen. Just so you don't get confused :)**


	5. May to June

**V**

**M A Y**

_Ding dong._

She heard something very interesting once, from a customer enjoying a cup of coffee with his friend. He said, in a wise motivational speaker sort of way, that success was measured in the number of risks one takes. The problem was realizing when you had reached the success stage and when the journey ends. That was his friend's concern. But he, very smartly, replied that one will know when he reaches success—because he will never trade his life for anyone else's. This whole thing, of course, was a meteorite to her brain. It was almost inconceivable that, after so many years of striving for success, Sakura realized that she'd been walking towards the wrong direction all along.

In that moment she realized she hasn't reached legendary sword that is success. She'd been running in circles for so long she hadn't even started looking. Some days she wished she could be as carefree and bold as Temari. Perhaps that level of impulse will get her somewhere, an exit to the single life maybe? But people were fickle. None of the people she'd been romantically involved with had ever truly wanted the same things as she did. Neither party could ever accommodate each other either. They'd always be pointing fingers accusingly. You're never there, they'd say accusingly—in a whole array of creative ways but always accusing to some degree—because you never loved me as much as your job. As much as this, as much as that. They measured everything out so well. It was true, unfortunately. Cygnus Rouge was all she had left of her mother, all she had left of happier times. If only she realized how lucky she was then.

Was she happy now? She had everything she wanted, a simple life and great friends. She shouldn't be so greedy. Besides, what more could she ask for? Nonetheless the void was there. No matter how many good friends she had, how many material things, or saintly deeds. The void persisted.

Hinata was the beacon in the fog. She had to be. So pure and earnest, so honest in everything. She had to be the one. She was perfect. Nothing comes from nothing. She knew she had to take risks if she would ever find her way to success. Can she? Should she? What were the sacrifices entitled to this relationship? After all, they were only at the stage where they "maybe love each other but we'll see."

Sakura shook her head and organized her thoughts. Finally, she stood firm and made a decision. She would take a risk. It was true that the chances of failure were high, but more failures would raise her chances right? She didn't have much else to lose. She was only missing that one more key ingredient to her happiness. Hinata was the one. The one last stepping stone to her life's success. Her mother would be proud right? Yet Sakura could not deny the fear bubbling inside, fear of the blurry future. She pieced together all sorts of scenarios in her mind, but nothing seemed right. She'd only ever get so far. Even then she saw only a fairytale plot, only the cliché in the rising action until they altogether morphed into different people. It seemed anticlimactic already.

She shrugged it off. It was irrational to try and predict the future anyway.

Today would be her third date with Hinata. Her meticulous planning of this special date led to hours of reflection and decision-making. She poured herself into finding a bond between her and this girl, if only to run from the niche Ino had occupied in her heart. Life with Ino hasn't changed. They worked together, took turns picking up the kids, drove home, found ways to entertain the kids, and mundane activities like that. She couldn't change her emotions towards the blonde. More often than not she found herself reconstructing expressions and shifting her body language. Meanwhile, Ino was recovering steadily. Sakura could begin to see the strong woman climbing out of her shell. She was no longer tired and no longer insecure. She was becoming more attractive every day. She radiated when she smiled, glowed even when she was frustrated. Sakura loved it when she was frustrated, there was no guilt in it the answer was simple. When she was upset, Sakura could come to her rescue—pick up the children and distract them for hours while she took time for herself. Sometimes she'd open herself up to Sakura, and sometimes she'd lean in close, rub her forehead against her shoulder while she spoke. Gestures that drove Sakura crazy, but that was what girls did. She had to be her friend in those times. She loved those times when she felt needed. Was she a bad person?

The terrifying thought of it all.

_Ding dong_, the bell chimed again. Sakura glanced over at the blonde beside her, holding Chika on her lap as they watched TV. How did her thoughts wander so far in that direction when Hinata was right there—so close—beyond the door. Ino met her eyes. She smiled. Sakura quivered.

Chikao jumped up and over the back pane of the armchair he sat in. "I'll get it!"

"Me too, me too!" Chika said, clambering off her mother's lap. Ino caught her and pulled her back, shushing her.

"Wait! Chikao! No! Don't!" Sakura cried.

But it was too late.

And the next thing she heard was: "Woah! It's Miss Hyuuga! Why are _you_ here?"

Sakura stumbled towards the front door and flashed a sheepish smiled. "Hi," she said. Hinata stood under the white light of the outside hallway, her fair skin flushed pink. With her dark hair framing her face neatly, Sakura immediately pictured a porcelain doll. That was what she was, Sakura thought with a small smile, a pretty little porcelain doll.

"Hello," Hinata replied with a grin.

Ino turned and peeked over the couch. She nodded. Sakura watched, hesitant to interrupt the nonchalant staring contest between the two. "Uh," she cut in, pulling Hinata towards her to break Ino's gaze, "Hinata, this is Ino as you might've guessed. Ino, this is Hinata, my, uh, date tonight."

Chikao jumped up in front of Sakura. "Woah! Is Miss Hyuuga gonna be our third mommy?"

Chika poked her head out of the couch. She stood on the seat beside Ino with mouth open wide in wonder.

Ino blinked, stoic as ever. Sakura gaped at the boy in front of her. "Chikao! That's inappropriate okay? No more calling everybody Mommy."

"But I don't!" Chikao whined. "I only call you and Mommy 'mommy'."

"Well you shouldn't even be calling _me _that. Let alone your teacher."

"But she—"

"S-shall we go, Hinata?" Sakura said, already leading her to the door. As the door closed behind her she added, "Be good Chikao, and take care of your mommy and your sister. You're in charge okay?"

Sakura took Hinata's hand with a mysterious grin. They didn't exchange a word. She pulled her up four flights of stairs until they reached a rusty metal door. It opened with the jarring screech of metal against metal. A flash of pink light blinded them as soon as they stepped out. Hinata gasped. It was a perfect evening. Sakura walked ahead and pulled out a chair from a laid out little table. White table cloth swam in the evening wind. A single rose in a long glass vase sat at the centre of the table. Two covered silver platters were laid out between utensils on either side of the table. Sakura stood slightly bent over her chair, hand gracefully waving her into her seat. The sun set slowly behind her as the rays illuminated her head like sky-filled halo.

It was too perfect.

Hinata bit her lip. She sat down, breathless.

Sakura removed the lids of the platters with a grin to reveal a carefully plated entrée. "Do you like it?" She asked. Hinata nodded.

Dinner proceeded, excitedly at first. Then conversation began to slow, began to get desperate. Hinata's mask began to peel off progressively. She was filled, almost combusting with more sadness than Sakura noticed before. A needle of guilt punctured her heart. All at once the silence seemed to devour all the oxygen under the open sky.

"Sakura," Hinata said quietly. Her voice quivered. "I-I r-r-really like you."

Sakura smiled. "I know."

"A lot."

"Yes."

Hinata took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her eyes rolled upwards, as if seeking the darkening clouds for courage. The moon peeked out of the broken cirrus. "Ino is very pretty," She said, eyes fixed intently at Sakura.

"Uh, yeah I guess."

"This is all wonderful," she pushed her chair back. "And so are you." She stood up. With shaking hands she said, in her loudest and firmest voice, "All this. It shouldn't be with me. As much as I'd like you, I can't take something that's not mine. I can't risk yours and my happiness. I'm not the one for you. You aren't the one for me, even if it seems like you are now. You have to tell her."

She placed her napkin on the table. With one final thank you, she left. The teeth-grinding noise of the metal door was like an explosion in Sakura's ears. She slumped in her chair. What happened? Until now, she couldn't be more definitive that Hinata was the type of girl she could fall for. Time, of course, was irrelevant. It must've been the rumours. She just didn't want to be seen as a home wrecker. It was true. Unless the rumours have been put to rest, there was no way that she could find a girlfriend. Ino wasn't an option.

Was she?

Sakura sighed.

X

"I don't understand. She seemed perfectly happy being with you."

The next day, the mid-day rush finally cooled down. The four of them, with Temari on her lunch break and Tenten on her day off, sat down for the first time in weeks. Sakura found herself disoriented the first few hours of work. Some things were rearranged and some things were different altogether. However there was no doubt at all what a fine job Ino had done. She was a quick learner, having never had experience in managing a business before. Sakura was so impressed the first thing she could think to do was give her a raise, which was promptly rejected.

"Me neither," Tenten said. She dipped her biscotti into her coffee and let it soak as she spoke. "She was so excited all the times she's been in the book store. To the point where she never really shut up about you and how lucky she was, et cetera, et cetera."

"It was so sudden," Ino added. "Not to mention unfair."

"Well, not the first time I've been rejected."

"Sakura," Temari said between bites of her sandwich, "girls are threatened by you. Hell, I'm threatened by you sometimes."

"You don't have to worry about me, Temari. Sadly, you're the only one I want," Tenten said with a strangely fitting nonchalance as she sipped her coffee.

Temari grinned and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. "It's ridiculous how much weight is gone by that statement alone."

"What did she say to you exactly?" Tenten changed the subject.

"That I'm not the right one for her because she's not the right one for me or whatever. Something along the lines of we'll never be happy together."

"She just can't stand being second string."

"Shut up Temari. I was so confident that I could fall in love with her though. I mean I liked her."

"Just not the right way?" Tenten offered. "I mean, I think Hinata has a pretty good background. I've heard that her father owns more than half the planet. So maybe she'd rather not have you at all if she had to share you."

"Somehow she doesn't strike me as the type," Ino said.

"She's too polite. I'm just throwing it out there," Tenten said, "I don't believe a word I'm saying."

"Really, guys. Maybe she just found some super hot prince or princess charming and rode off into the sunset."

Tenten clapped her hand over Temari's face to quiet her down. "Maybe you should talk to her some more."

"I should call her?" Sakura asked. Somehow, the idea bewildered her and had not once entered her mind.

"Yes. Even better, talk to her face to face. At least fully understand the reason before you go around assuming things. That'll just drive everyone crazy. Including us, Sakura."

"She sure is amazing though," Ino said. "I'd never be able to do what she did."

"She's pretty quick," Temari agreed, "but would you call it being smart?"

Tenten frowned. "Call it what you will, but Sakura's 25 years old and without a sex life. At this rate it looks like she'll be heading for spinsterhood."

"Excuse me! I'm right here!"

Temari chuckled. "You sure like to be direct, honey. And her sex life isn't _completely_ nonexistent. Six months ago, she hit it off with one _very_ bodacious redhead. Then again, she was just passing through the town so that was the end of that. Remember, Sakura dear?"

"And why do you know this?" Tenten said with obvious irritation.

"Because I tried to get her first. And failed. I'm guessing it's because she wasn't into being the submissive one. Common incompatibility." She sighed, "I guess I was just too good for her."

"Why are we discussing my sex life again? Look, it's making Ino uncomfortable!"

"You don't mind do you, hun?"

Ino shook her head. "It's fascinating. You never struck me as the type to hitch up with random people, Sakura."

"I don't! We actually dated, okay? For like two weeks." Sakura groaned and slid in her seat. "That's it. I'm going to call her and find out what could be so terribly wrong with me. Love will come eventually!"

"Sakura," Tenten said, putting a hand on hers, "why are you forcing this? She might not even be the one."

"'The One' is only what you make of it," Sakura replied, completely self-assured. "She has no name or face yet. Until I give one to her, she could be anyone I want."

Temari smiled mysteriously. "Not when you've already got a name and face in mind."

X

That evening, Sakura sat in the middle of her living room carpet deep in thought. It was sort of a meditation, but rather than not thinking at all, her lotus position helped her think more. In fact, thinking was all she did. It wasn't relaxing in the least. It was, however, a way to solve problems. She'd done this a few times in the past. The first time she used this form of meditation was when she inherited the café. She sat for nearly five hours recalling her mother's methods and devising her own. She felt a little more confident afterwards, but ended up buying a few books to help anyway. She had to admit it was rough sailing at first. Trial and error was vital, yet there would be no trial had there not been a hypothesis.

Tonight, it was Hinata on her mind. She'd followed her word and called the girl out. That was when she learned it was already too late. Hinata was just another passerby. She'd come to the town on a trial and that was that. When Sakura called, she'd just boarded a plane for the city. Hinata knew she had to leave eventually, which was admittedly part of the reason she walked out. Nonetheless her father would definitely not approve. Most of her reasons were among the selfish. But there was truth in her parting words. Sakura could see herself reciprocating the girl's feelings, but would she ever be able to give up her café for her? Her life and her friends? It was absolutely out of question. Hinata knew this. Then Hinata wished her luck and told her, very slyly, "to succumb." There was a vague sense of chemistry, Hinata had said, between Sakura and what truly could be love.

Before long they'd run out of things to say. Just a final beep and she was gone forever. Sakura missed her, even if only that compulsory kind of longing one feels out of courtesy.

A switch clicked in her mind. Sakura thought about the present. She thought about Ino. Every sign was pointing to her, paving a path to her feet. But she was scared. What if there were wolves on that path? Should she try to tame them knowing she might fail?

The meditation continued like usual in the comfortable environment of her home with plenty of space around her, her mind blank save for the necessary thoughts she needed to proceed. The only difference was the boy tousling her hair and the girl's added weight to her crossed legs.

"What are you doing?" Chikao laughed.

"Meditating," Sakura replied.

"What's that?" Chika asked, hanging onto Sakura's arms.

"It's a time for me to think about things. In a quiet place."

"What are you thinking about?" Chikao said. He climbed onto her back and threw his arms around her neck. Sakura kept her cool, but found it difficult to concentrate on solving anything when all she could think about was how annoying the children are.

"What does the red look like?" Chika asked out of the blue.

Sakura sighed and opened her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanna know. My teacher read us a story about colours. But I don't get it."

Sakura sat in a few thoughtful moments of quiet before she could answer. "Well. I guess it's hard to describe a colour. Like a really strong emotion I suppose. Like anger. Or love, if you can imagine what that looks like. KInda like fire."

"Oh, oh! Fire goes _crackle, crackle, whoosh, whoosh!_" Chika said excitedly throwing her hands into the air, missing Sakura's jaw by half a centimetre.

"Yes. Like that. Just imagine it. Here I'll draw it for you." Sakura reached over and grabbed the memo pad on the coffee table. She took a plastic toy horse from the farm play set she bought for the kids and drew with the horse's hooves. That saved her the time of looking for a pen. She imprinted the general shape and took Chika's tiny hands, running them over the back of the paper where the ditches turned into mountains. Chika squealed in delight.

"That's what it sort of looks like. But wilder."

Chika grabbed the sheet of paper and jumped off Sakura's lap. She sat down on the couch and began to trace and retrace the shape with her finger, lost in her own world.

Sakura smiled, and turned to the little boy who was busy throwing up her hair. "Chikao let me ask you something," she said in a serious voice, pulling him in front of her. "What do you do when a girl you sort of like likes you back but then she says she doesn't like you because you like someone else?"

Chikao stared at her. "I don't get it," he said.

"Well, uh. Okay. Say you sort of like a girl right?"

"Girls have cooties!" he said. Sakura gave him a look. He sat down, suddenly almost docile. "Okay fine."

"And the girl likes you back too. So you take her out to dinner?"

"I'm six!" He said, falling backwards onto the carpet.

"Okay fine. You like her and she likes you so you give you her juice box during recess."

"That's so…serious!" He gaped.

"Well you like her a lot okay?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Yes, very."

"Okay then."

"Anyway! So you give her your juice box for two days in a row."

"Woah!"

Sakura mentally slapped herself for trying to ask for love advice from a first-grader. An attractive first-grader who may have a bit of experience but a first-grader nonetheless. "But!" she continued, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt, "on the third day she says she doesn't want your juice box."

"What? Why! Who doesn't like apple juice! Why do I like a weirdo who doesn't like apple juice?" He huffed.

"It's not because she doesn't like apple juice, Chikao. She does. She just doesn't want it because she thinks you'd rather give your juice box to someone else."

"Oh. Do I?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment. "Yes. Yes you do."

"Then I say thank you right? Because I only have one juice box and she's being super nice to let me give it to someone else. And Mommy says I always have to say thank you when someone is being nice. I guess I can ask Mommy to give me two juice boxes. Or three so I can have one too."

Sakura blinked at him, dumbfounded. That was one idea she hadn't thought of.

"What if the other girl doesn't want your juice box either because she prefers orange juice?"

Chikao looked thoughtful for a minute. "Um, I guess I'd drink it myself. But why would anyone want orange juice over apple juice! Oh, oh! I think I'd make her trade with me. Everybody likes apple juice more so she'd probably like it too if she tried it!"

Sakura gaped. His metaphor was becoming all too clear. He really was wiser than he looked.

"Sakura-mama," he said, pulling on the cuff of her shirt.

"Yes, love?"

"Is this what they call a love triangle?"

Silence. Sakura's heartbeat quickened for a moment.

"I guess so. Yeah."

"I guess I have one too then!" Chikao said, amazed.

"Really now?"

"Well, there's a girl at school named Carrot. That's what I call her because her hair is orange like a carrot! Anyway she always makes me play puppets when we have free time. I don't like puppets! And, and, it's bad because Kitten always invites me to play trains and I can't go! Oh, her mommy calls her Kitten so I call her that too now. She's so much more funner than Carrot. And she doesn't make me play dumb girly things."

Sakura couldn't help but grin. "'Funner' is not a word, Chikao. And you should just tell, uh, Carrot that you don't want to play puppets. Or you can go play with this Kitten person and invite Carrot to play with you. Like you said earlier, maybe she'll like trains after she tries them."

"Oh…But I kind of don't want to play with Carrot. Is that bad?" Suddenly he gasped. "Am I mean?"

"No! Of course not," Sakura said with a laugh. "Just tell her how you feel then. If you don't do that then you'll never get to play with Kitten. Or she'll find another boy to play with."

"No!" He exclaimed, eyes wide with terror. "I like playing with her!"

Sakura grinned. "You know calling her Kitten makes her sound like your girlfriend."

"Ew!"

Suddenly, both heads turned towards the loud squeak of leather above their heads. One glance and he know. Chikao looked at his sister with nothing but concern. He stood up and pulled Chika off the couch. "What's wrong, Chika?" he asked.

She flushed with embarrassment as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "I have to potty," she said in a voice so small that Sakura could only read her lips. Just as they left the living room, Ino walked in with a plate of neatly arranged sliced apples. She sat down in the middle of the couch. Sakura pulled herself up from the carpet and pulled the coffee table in front of her. She seated herself beside her, cautiously to see if she would uncomfortable shift away. Fortunately, Ino just smiled.

Sakura watched as she set down the plate, memorizing every inch of her profile. Perhaps I should take my own advice, Sakura thought. If I don't tell her she'll find someone else to play with.

Ino turned and handed her a toothpick. Sakura panicked when their eyes met just as her fingers brushed against hers. She grinned sheepishly.

"They're amazing aren't they?" Sakura said after a stretch of awkward silence on her part.

"Of course," Ino said with a smile. "They're my kids. Care to tell me what you were doing on the carpet?"

"It's a thing I learned from my mom. The first time I saw her do it"—she snorted at the memory—"I thought she'd finally lost it. I came home one day from school and saw her sitting on the carpet in a lotus position and speaking some foreign language. I didn't wanna disturb her so I just waited for her to finish. She was there for at least three hours after I came home. So I finally poured a bucket of water on her. She was mad. Anyway, she said it helped her relax. I didn't try it till after she passed, but it didn't really work for me. Well, I shouldn't say it _didn't_ work. It worked in a different way. I found that I could think clearer. You know? So I use it whenever I need to figure things out."

Ino nodded. "So you're thinking about Hinata aren't you?"

Sakura leaned back into the seat and reclined her head to stare at the ceiling. A long sigh escaped her lips. "It's all figured out. She's going back home to the city. I guess she knew from the start that it wouldn't work out. Me, I was just being hopeful. She knew I wasn't going to be crazy about her."

"Well to be honest, there really is no such thing as love at first sight. Basing your whole life on a fragile first connection is just plain dumb," Ino said.

"Yes. Perhaps you're right."

"But it was worth the try?" Ino offered.

"Yes," Sakura smiled. "I suppose it was. Being crazy about someone…is just so…"

She trailed off. Ino didn't say anything.

**J U N E**

Lately, Sakura noticed something particular. A disturbance of sorts in her humble café. Much of her life had returned to normal. She worked seven in the morning to seven in the evening. During the weekends, she opened only for early breakfast. She hadn't thought about her plans for expansion, though she felt she'd very much toned down the hours of work. She'd adjusted her new schedule around the children. As soon as school is out, she'd close her café and took the kids in for afternoon tea. As soon as she gets home at 7: 15, she'd prepare dinner. Compared to her old life, this one was much more relaxing. She just couldn't decide whether she should get used to it.

However, recently something in her café unsettled her. A particular patron to be exact. A man. Incidentally, he was a friend of hers so why should he unnerve her? It was perfectly irrational. The problem lies in the fact that he never visited her café unless she was hosting some sort of event. He'd never stop by for coffee. Since she introduced him to Ino in the park that day, he'd been visiting every day. But only if Ino was there. He knew that Sakura and Ino shared responsibility in picking the children up from school. If it was Ino's turn, he'd show up in the café thirty minutes later. Nonetheless, he showed up. Every day, unconditionally.

His interest couldn't be more obvious.

One day the pattern broke. Ino was out for the afternoon. Sakura tried to hide the surprise when he walked in, casually, with his hands deep in his pockets. He looked around like it was his first time in the café. The way he slouched, the way his ponytail bobbed while he walked, Sakura couldn't stop staring. He was supposed to be her friend. They used to go out for drinks together from time to time. But now. He made her blood boil.

"What can I do for you, Shikamaru?" Sakura said, plastering a plastic smile on her face.

"Mm," he skimmed the glass display, "coffee, please. Black. And one of those blueberry bars or whatever. Looks good."

"Yeah, got them out of the oven just a couple minutes ago," Sakura said. She turned to prepare his coffee. She knew her behaviour around him wasn't natural. There was tension. He could sense it too, of course. He was too smart not to.

"So," he said in his usual monotone. He leaned on the display case with an elbow casually propping up his head. "Are you…you know…with Ino?"

"Why? Are the rumours still going?"

"Yeah, but I'm curious. I wanted to hear it from you."

"No."

"What?"

"No, we're not together."

"Oh."

Sakura hesitated. She placed the coffee cup in front of him. "Are you…thinking of…?"

"I suppose so. Something about her. I can't seem to stay away," he said with a sigh. "I don't know why. Women are so troublesome. She won't budge though. Help me." He furrowed his brow as if his plea was a compromise of his integrity.

The nerve of this man, Sakura thought. She wished hard that he would just leave soon, but on outside she said, "I don't know. Do something romantic?"

"Tried. She doesn't like saxophone apparently. Or the acoustic guitar. Or poetry. Or flowers. Or chocolate." He gently slapped the glass and said, "She's extraordinary. What else do women like?"

"I don't know. Why are you asking me anyway?" she replied, unable to hide the irritation in her voice.

"You're good with women, Sakura," he said bluntly. "You know what they like."

"What?" She laughed, a burst of loud laughter that shot through the room. She shook her head and waved him away with a bar wipe. "You're so misinformed."

"Well you _must_ at least know what_ she_ likes."

"As far as I know," she bit her lip for a moment, "her children. She loves nothing more in this world than her kids."

"Kids, huh?" Shikamaru repeated thoughtfully. "Troublesome. But I wouldn't mind. Thanks." And with that he paid for his coffee and left without a blueberry bar. Sakura groaned and switched on the radio. No use interrogating herself. The café was too quiet. The quiet gave her too much time to think about all the things she shouldn't be thinking about.

Move on, she told herself. Shikamaru could be the one she needs. He was capable. He was a smart, smart man with enough money to burn. He said he would be willing to change his lifestyle for Ino, Chika, and Chikao. Sakura didn't doubt that. He always meant what he said. After all, it was too much work for him to invent lies. His personality made it impossible for him to be anything but straightforward, logical. Empirical you could say.

Ino on the other hand was stronger than she seemed. She was forward, just like him. Not at all like the intuitive personality of Sakura's. What did everything add up to? She survived without a man to care for her. Perhaps she didn't need him. Perhaps she doesn't need her either.

What have you been doing all this time? She asked herself.

That was when the tears came. That was when all her voided questions became too much, and finally, she had reached another point in her life where she truly did not know what to do. No, that wasn't right. She did know what to do. There was one path she could take. One she wished she didn't have to. But that was it. Surely any other alternatives would eventually leave her in a desperate state of asphyxiation. To a point where she'd fall once again into that monster of her past self.

That night, late past the children's bedtime, Sakura snuck into the bedroom. Her steps were heavy with hesitation, slow with trepidation. The two women had, along the way, grown into habit of alternating between bed and couch. Tonight was by wicked coincidence Ino's turn for the bed. Sakura couldn't stop thinking about all the implications of sneaking around the bedroom late at night. She couldn't stop the pricks of guilt and the tremulous stirring of her stomach. Yet she had no choice. Any further procrastination would suck out any and every bit of courage inside her. She formed a truce between her heart and her reason. If she was already asleep, she would give up and wait for the next train. And that was that.

Sakura hovered over the bed as her eyes slowly adjusted the image before her. "Ino?" she whispered. The shadow shifted onto its back.

"Sakura?" it said, not yet drunk with a sleepy slur. "What's up? Is something wrong?" Ino sat up and patted the bed. Sakura sat immediately for fear her legs would give out.

"I-I can't sleep," she declared.

Ino reached beside her, and suddenly they were bathed in a small sphere of yellow light. "What's wrong?"

"No," Sakura said quickly then shook her head. "Yes. Yes. Yes there is. And I. Will tell you! Yes I will."

"Okay."

"Shikamaru. Uh, he likes you, you know."

Ino groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Yes, he told me," her muffled voice said. "Many, many times."

"Oh. Um, what did you say?"

"Nothing. I rejected him."

Sakura shot up on high alert. "What? Why? But he…he's so nice." She drooped forward again like a wilted flower, feeling sheepish and dumb.

"I guess. But he's boring."

"He said he was willing to change for you. He said he didn't mind being a father, you know."

Ino frowned. "I don't need someone who's 'willing to change'. 'Not minding' is purely his conclusion through speculation. 'Willing to change' has no substance to it. It's too unpredictable. The last thing I need right now is unpredictability. Anyway, it doesn't seem like he even knows what 'responsibility' is."

"But he's a genius. And he's loaded," Sakura added in a small voice.

"Sakura," Ino eyed her critically, "you think I'm the type of woman to run off and marry a man for his money? When I was living alone I had plenty of chances of becoming a cheap trophy wife if I really wanted to. Is that how you see me?"

Sakura flinched.

"No!" she exclaimed, trying to endure the twisting of her heart.

"Sakura," Ino said in a much softer tone. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Yes. I am."

"Really?"

"No." Involuntarily, Sakura reached up and clutched her heart. Then she fell silent as the waves crashed inside her head. She made a decision. She raised her head to meet Ino's patient eyes-eyes that widened under the intensity of her gaze. Finally, she said it.

"Ino, I love you."

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone, long time no see! God I really hope my next update will be faster than this one. I haven't quite adjusted to school yet, I guess. There's too much to do. Too many movies to watch, TV shows to follow, games to play. Sorry! Plus I have to start university applications and things like that. Ew. I hope I can pump out as many stories as I can this year before I head off to post-secondary! Because then I'll actually have to sacrifice time to make an effort to write all the time...I really really hope I can keep true when the time comes. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this!**

** The long-awaited romance has finally come!**

**Oh, and sorry about the title of this story. I've changed it again. I kinda like it so I'll probably keep it for now. The other two bothered me too much.**


	6. July

**VI**

**J U L Y**

Ino was clearing a table in the midst of a noontime rush when she felt it again. She'd lost count of how many times a day she had this feeling shimmy down her spine. It reminded her of the times when she was unstable, when she was severely paranoid, as if every object were staring at her with cold murderous eyes. It was indeed that feeling of being watched, but in a different way. To put it more accurately, this sharp little feeling took her back to even earlier days. In school: when she was a little flame that drew in the moths. She knew it wasn't her imagination, not since the confession weeks ago.

Sakura's eyes followed her everywhere. She knew they were there even when neither was aware. She wondered how long this had been going on. Yet she couldn't blame her. Sakura watched her like a puppy in the rain. She was so sad. She tried to hide it, but she was sad. People are smart enough to figure that out. Ino was smart enough to figure it out.

What could she do?

That night Sakura had crept into her room, her face practically burning with apprehension. She'd expected rejection, yet she didn't even give her time to consider one syllable. Yes or no—not even a maybe. She'd presented the question and run off again in all of two heartbeats. She's set herself up to fall but refused to take the dive. For the past two weeks they barely spoke, barely made eye contact. Sakura stared when she wasn't looking, and Ino admitted she did the same. She told herself it was only because she wanted to know whether she was watching her. But it sounded more hollowed every time. They were like schoolgirls with their first crush. Their routine went on the same nonetheless. The kids felt the tension too—she knew. So far they haven't asked. Ino had time to consider the question. She knew long before the question was posed. It was obvious. Sakura's tentative approach and uneasy posture when they spoke, her trail of little sacrifices of time and money, her inability to make direct eye contact for more than three seconds. It was all there. She was sweeter than any man had ever been. The effort she put in to make her happy bested even her ex-husband. It was no secret—she and Sasuke were madly in love at one point in their lives. They went to great lengths for each other. Her, for one, sacrificed the love of her family, and he…she couldn't even remember.

She was flattered to say the least. The problem was that she wasn't sure she was capable of loving with such intensity ever again.

She just didn't know what to say or do. Gratefulness did not equal love. She'd taken everything but had given none. Could she love a woman out of obligation to her conscience? A woman. That shouldn't bother her, but it made her uncomfortable. She couldn't lie. Her life had been so full of lies at one point that she'd truly forgotten what it meant to be honest and in love. Her children were the only anchor to remind her. But Sakura, she was simple in a different sense. Different from what she was used to. Now that it was confirmed that the woman had feelings for her, what should she do? Should she choose rationale over her gut again? The deepest, most illogical part of her said yes. Go out with her, give her a chance. That much you owe her. But the mind said no. She'd just end up hurting the poor woman.

What is she supposed to do? What about her own feelings? She didn't love her, at least not now, not that she was aware, so how could she pretend to reciprocate her feelings? Perhaps she could learn to love her. It didn't seem hard. Nonetheless the idea loomed above her head, a great black mass haunting her. That thing called fear.

"Excuse me," said a small echo in her head. Ino dismissed it.

"Excuse me!" it cried, shaking Ino from her puzzle of thought. She hadn't even realized she was with customers. The man in front of her frowned. "Are you alright?" he said with a disdained politeness rather than genuine concern.

"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry," Ino replied with a small bend at the waist. "What can I do for you?"

He huffed and complained. Something about his coffee. As if on auto-pilot, Ino walked over to the bar to inform Sakura. There was nothing awkward about conversation between them when it was work related and spoken almost instinctively. It saddened Ino to think this was now the extent of their relationship. Sakura had been a good friend to her when she had none. Now they were merely robots working in the same quadrant.

Temari and Tenten walked in right after the noontime surge as usual. And as usual they were chatting happily as they crossed the window, hands interwoven and completely lost in each other. Even Tenten, who was usually so calm and cool, softened just for Temari when nobody appeared to be watching. It must be nice, Ino thought absently.

Today, however, there was something especially bright about the smiles on their faces.

"Hey you two," Temari said. She was so excited she even broke her routine of ordering first. "Tenten"—she emphasized, squeezing her shoulder—"and _I_ have come up with the most brilliant plan!"

"Well, actually," Tenten cut in, "it's a rather simple solution."

"What's the problem?" That was Sakura, peering out from the cupboards. She had been organizing her coffee grinds and tea leaves trying to find the perfect combinations for a new menu item. That was all she tried to think about. Sometimes Ino would see her in the kitchen at three in the morning trying to blend together the perfect coffee or tea. It was a way of coping, she'd guessed.

Temari shook her head. "Oh, it's not a problem per say," she said, "just a bit of a dilemma I guess. Well, to be honest I'd gotten myself in a bit of trouble. See, my brother somehow had the idea that Tenten and I had a couple of kids. He's coming to town this weekend to see them. He _never_ visits me so I don't want to disappoint him. So, uh, can we borrow yours for tonight?"

"How did you manage _that_?" Ino asked.

"Let's not get into that," Tenten intercepted. "As we all know she's _the_ master of the art of stupidity."

Ino looked at Sakura. Sakura stared back, mirroring her dumbfounded expression. "You've got to be kidding," one of them said. Both were thinking the exact same thing.

"This is ridiculous!" One of them began.

"Yes! You can't just go around deciding these things yourselves!"

"And the kids…"

"Temari will corrupt them for sure."

"They're my children! You can't just borrow them like some sort of condiment whenever you feel like it!"

And so the exclamations continued all the same. Ino and Sakura talked over each other, and their words shot up and vanished into thin air before Tenten's eyes. Temari pinched the bridge of her nose. Perhaps she should've just told them the truth. And say, "Why yes, we feel your kids are a nuisance. You two need a weekend to kiss and make up, so we'll be babysitting for you!" Temari the Super Nanny. That's a laugh. There was no easy way to pull a mother away from her children, but it was a necessary move. Still, Temari had to wonder how Sakura did recklessly saintly deeds like this on a daily basis. A weekend was enough sacrifice as it was.

Tenten, on the hand, saw through their knowing eyes. They needed the time to work things out. It was just a matter of accepting this excuse. Whatever came out of their mouths now were just obligations as parents. She knew if Judgement Day came unexpectedly Ino would be forced to make her choice and Sakura would be forced to confront it. They're hot-blooded and young, and there was no time like the present to awaken the beast within.

Tenten smiled to herself. It was brilliant. She just wished Temari would come up with a better excuse. So much for Temari's so-called skills and alleged badassedness. She always bragged prematurely. She should've known. The only thing she didn't brag about prematurely was her prowess in bed. But that's another story.

She touched the warm hand at her waist and waited.

* * *

Friday came and Temari found herself wanting to curl up with an Aspirin-badly. Chikao tugged and Chika cried. How and why Sakura chose to deal with these little monsters flew right above their heads. She thought this would be easy. Dinner, TV, sleep by early evening. She thought she'd romp the night away despite the impossible favour. She'd sadly, sorely, taken children much, much too lightly. She suddenly saw both Ino and Sakura in a new light. She suddenly held them on a new shiny pedestal. This night was never going to end.

"Temari, Temari! What's this?" While she was busy coaxing Chika with a rubber ducky—the only unadulterated toy she owned—Chikao was busy exploring. She didn't want him snooping, but it was one or the other, and Chika was the clingy loud one who bumped into things. Besides, what would she tell Ino if Chika accidentally rammed her head in some corner or another? Tenten was preparing dinner. She couldn't ask her to juggle sharp knives and soft children.

Temari gaped. She closed her eyes and wished beyond all hope that she was hallucinating. Her breath came in steady but forced intervals.

"What's this?" Chikao repeated, waddling closer. "It says it's a…Ma…Ma…ji…ck…Bull…it? I thought you make food with that…Saku-mama has one of those! But it doesn't look like this. How do you make food with this?" He flipped the toy over and rolled it around, looking for the right side up. He inspected it from every angle, but he couldn't figure out what it did. It was a box attached to a string that had an egg shaped piece stuck on it. He flipped the switch. The toy writhed to life like a snake wrestling its prey. Chikao shrieked and it soared, whizzing right past Temari's right ear. Temari watched it with eyes wide open, as if seeing it for the first time as it shook against the sofa's leather. Chika didn't move; her ears perked at the sound.

"Woah," Chikao murmured.

"What happened?" Tenten came charging out of the kitchen with an argyle apron and a wooden spoon in hand. Temari grinned, trying her best to look innocent and unaffected by her partner's housewife demeanour.

But Tenten was not pleased in the slightest. "Temari," she said in her subtle seething kind of way, "What, pray tell, is Ino's 6-year-old son doing with your…toy? Actually you know what? I don't even want to know."

"But! Tenten! Please, I don't have anything to do with it! He found it—"

"No. Stop. I don't wanna hear it," she said, shaking her head as she closed the kitchen door. Did that door close louder than usual? At least now Temari knew what kind of mother she would be. That was a bad sign. She knew Tenten was quite fond of kids, and she didn't mind if it made her happy. "They're as good as they come," she remembered Ino saying of her own kids one day. Temari sighed. There would be no favours tonight, she thought. She picked up the toy and stomped away from the children.

Chikao scrambled next to his sister, guilty, as she held his hand, saying nothing. An innocent enough gesture. But they knew they weren't about to make life easy for the ever-gracious Auntie Temari.

* * *

They sat together in silence as the muted television played on. Their eyes met whenever the screen was dark enough to catch a clear glimpse of their reflections. The extent of their relationship, Ino recalled her earlier thought. She shook her head. Tenten and Temari set them up, yet she could not deny what a golden opportunity this was. The only problem was how completely sudden this situation was. If she asked her for an answer, what was she supposed to say now that she was backed up against a wall?

She couldn't take the silence. It was driving her into all sorts of places she didn't want to be in. "Sure is quiet without them," she said, just to berate herself right after for the redundancy of such an obvious statement.

"Yeah. It really is."

Neither questioned why it was that way. Neither claimed to know or care why the TV was muted or what the flickering was even about. The very thought of being in each other's company alone frightened them to death. How could they care about such trivialities now that this fear had become reality?

"I miss them," Ino said.

"Me too."

Ino suddenly turned to stare straight at Sakura. The couch squeaked in response to the sudden movement. Sakura stared back in panic, her body tense. "Why is this so damn hard?" Ino asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Look, about the other night," Ino started.

She paused to take a breath and choose her words carefully, but was, almost reflexively it seemed, intercepted by Sakura. "Oh yeah, about that. Don't worry about it. I don't know why I did that. I know you're different. I don't want to make you feel like you owed me."

"Sakura," Ino said, biting her lip. She'd eased her fears and yet all it did was make her feel worse. The guilt. "I…already kind of knew. And I've been thinking. You're a wonderful person, and the kids love you. You're virtually everything anyone could ever ask for. But…"

"Like I said, I really don't expect you to reciprocate. I guess."

"The thing is…"

"You don't have to say anything."

"No, I do. I mean it took a while but I made a decision. So here's what I think-"

"No, Ino, it's fine really. I just—"

"Sakura! Stop!" Ino said, shooting off the couch with the intensity of her words. "Just be quiet and listen before I change my mind." Sakura clapped her mouth shut, and shrank a little. Ino sat down again, this time closer. "I'll admit," She continued, "I'm scared. I don't know what my decision will impact, but I do know that I care about you too. And I'm not liking the silence between us. But that's only a very, very small factor to my decision. I'm a selfish person, Sakura. I won't deny. I've weighed the pros and cons, and the possibility of our future together. At first I said to myself that I will never go out with another woman simply because I am indebted to her. But then I realized, you haven't been just another woman.

"Three days ago, you ran out to save a little kid with an ice cream cone. Do you remember that? You saved her from the stray dog. It went crazy and you actually ran out and saved her. It was just a bite that day, but what if it had rabies? The fact that you'd do that for someone you didn't know is just…unbelievable. So maybe you're confusing this kind of thing with love?"

"N-no!" Sakura exclaimed without hesitation. She tried to relax her muscles, though she couldn't recall when they'd tightened this much. "I do love you, Ino. I really do." She sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "It used to be about helping you and fulfilling my own needs in doing so, but it's not like that anymore. I just…want to spend the rest of my life with you, Chika, and Chikao. I want to protect you. I can't really explain it any more than that. I-I'm sorry if that sounds extreme but that's just…the way I feel."

"Then," Ino replied tentatively, "kiss me. Let me know for sure so I can decide."

Sakura nodded. Or shook. Or both. She wasn't sure and she didn't feel in control of herself at all.

It was a slow ascension, that kiss. A collision in slow motion. Sakura was fearful and held her emotions just out of reach. She quivered, her hands shaking as they held her cheeks. Ino watched her carefully. Perhaps she'd made the wrong choice after all. She was two blinks away from pushing her off and Sakura knew this.

So she took the initiative and broke it first. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "I'm usually not like this. I mean, you just...came out of the blue and gave me the opportunity of the lifetime. And I screwed up. I can't believe…I…this is a dream." She hung her head. She was only centimetres away from Ino and yet it was as if they were on a parallel. Ino held her breath and suddenly felt the tension in her shoulders. There was something about the moment then. Something about the way her hair fell over her teary eyes. Something about the way she hovered over her. Something about the silence around them and the echoes of her breathing. Something that told her to do something crazy.

She touched her cheeks-blocked out all rationality-and rushed in before her mind can conjure up any more flimsy excuses. She sparked an unexpected flame as soon as their lips touched. Sakura came to life like a marionette, puppeteered by her passion alone. Ino felt her own hands run themselves in her hair, felt her own tongue welcoming Sakura's. She felt hands run along her spine, over her body and coming dangerously close to where she wanted them to be. Their breasts pressed together, sending newfound signals to her brain. The buttons on her blouse seemed to pop off on their own one after another. A hand came between their breasts and a hand across her stomach.

There was flannel under her jacket. Ino hated flannel. Only someone like Sakura could pull it off. That boyish side is so endearing. But not tonight. She tore it off. They fell to her elbows, leaving a white tank top behind. She couldn't stand the layers. She couldn't stand all that stood between them.

She arched her body into Sakura's, desperate for something, anything, a touch, a kiss, something more…something more, more, more. More, her own voice chanted in her head, more, and more, and more.

Then a breeze across her lips. The clock started ticking again.

They stared at each other in disbelief, eyes still dark from emotion. Their breathing became so loud. It felt like they were the only people breathing in this world and the next.

"Why?" Ino whispered. "Why did you stop?"

"It was the only place I could, Ino," she replied, her voice tinted dark with sadness. Her eyes were still dark, cheeks still flushed. The emotion hadn't yet escaped. "I don't want you regretting a decision you made in the heat of the moment. What if—"

"What if I don't mind?" Ino said with obvious frustration in her voice. She tried to take the dive again, but Sakura moved away.

"I can't." She inched away even further, fixing her clothes.

"Why?"

"Because I love you, Ino!" Sakura covered her eyes. "I wouldn't be able to take it if sex became the only meaning in our relationship. Neither should it be the first step. I'm sorry. I mean w-what if we…start small. Baby steps, y'know. It gives you time to make a decision and…and it gives me time to…persuade you I guess? Is that the right word?"

For Ino, the rationality settled in first, then embarrassment, then panic. "Yes," she said, louder than she'd intended. "Okay." Was that the extent of her vocabulary?

Sakura smiled through her nerves. "Let's maybe…try it tonight? We could go out for dinner if you like. We can figure out what to do next afterwards."

"Like…like a date?"

"Y-yeah. Like a date. Unless you don't want to!"

"Okay, um, yeah, a date. Okay. Should I change?"

"Oh, no, no. Let's not do anything too fancy."

"Okay, sounds good! Fantastic actually. I'll just…gotta go to the bathroom," Ino replied before darting off.

"Er, yeah, no problem," Sakura called after her. "I'll just get ready in the kitchen. I have some s-stuff to…boil. Yeah."

* * *

At that moment, two matching ringtones went off simultaneously. Tenten and Temari looked at each other over the table, each hesitant to pick up their respective phones. "It's probably your two moms calling in a crisis," Temari snickered. She leaned over and checked the caller ID. "Yee-ep. It's them alright."

"Are they fighting?" Chika gasped.

"Oh trust me, that's probably the last thing on their minds." Tenten kicked her under the table.

"I'm going to take this in the kitchen," Tenten said. To Chikao and Chika she added, "I'm sure everything will be fine. Finish your dinner, okay?"

"I'll get this in the bedroom then," Temari replied. "Be good, kiddies!"

As soon as the door was shut, Temari flipped open her cell phone, eager for the news. "Hey Sakura! What's up?"

Sakura groaned from the other end, so loudly that Temari had to lift her ear off the device for a second before Sakura muffled her voice with a pillow. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck it all I'm so screwed. I don't know what to do anymore! I just…fuck I don't know if I made the right choice but I just fucking gave away the opportunity of my life. I want to cry, Temari. Do you hear me? I want to shed big fat fucking tears until my tear ducts shrivel up!"

"Woah, woah! Slow down, Sakura, I can barely hear you through that pillow you're gnawing on. Tell me what happened," Temari said. So much for the master plan, she thought.

"She kissed me!"

Silence.

"Well?" Temari nearly shouted, waving her arms impatiently. "Celebrate, buddy!"

"No. Okay. Look. Here's what happened."

Meanwhile, Tenten was hearing something along the same lines.

"What do I do, Tenten?" Ino whined. "I was so sure that I couldn't…possibly feel something for another woman."

Tenten leaned over the counter as she fiddled with the toaster. There was something fascinating about the grill and the way her finger fit into the slot. Taboo, perhaps? Even though it wasn't plugged in. "Well, I don't know, Ino. Love just kind of hits you. Why didn't you think you'd be compatible with women?"

Ino moaned at her memories. "My parents were super Catholic. No one talked about it. It was just kind of in our heads that it was wrong. But I mean, I did eventually experiment in college. Maybe that's what put me off. Because it really wasn't very pleasant. And I was mostly drunk so I've probably done a lot worse than I remember. I mean I've never been exposed to the real thing until I came here. I don't know what I'm saying anymore. Am I making sense? I just never thought…oh my god but it felt so…so…"

"Good?" Tenten offered with a smirk.

"Amazing," Ino sighed.

"I know what you mean. If you asked me a year ago that I'd be head over heels for another woman—such a ridiculous woman at that—I'd probably laugh, call you an idiot and never think about it again."

"Wait, what? Temari was your first? I didn't know that."

"Ah-ah, I didn't say that. I've had little relationships with girls before but it was all so…I don't know, bland? Even the sex. It was all so storybooky. Truthfully I had more fun being with my books. But Temari, she's just…so above everything else. Even when she pisses me off. Maybe that's the way you feel? If you can't put a label on it it's a good thing right?"

"But I'm scared," Ino said. "And I can't help but think: what if she didn't stop herself when she did? And the courage it took to do something like that despite how she felt about me."

"Yeah, she's pretty special," Tenten laughed. "Temari would _never_ do that. Neither could I."

"What if I really do end up falling in love with her?" Her voice was quiet, contemplative. Tenten could almost see her burying her face with one hand.

"You're talking about this as if this was such a big dilemma."

"It is! Life-altering even!"

"What if she was a man? Would it be life-altering then?"

Ino closed her eyes and held her breath. She balled up her fist. Her reflection stared at her with guilty eyes. The what-if game, huh?

Tenten continued. "Make a list of the pros and cons! The only thing in the way of your happiness is yourself. Just loosen up, Ino, and for once just live by your most basic instincts. Allow yourself the privilege of happiness, okay? You don't have to grow old with her, but allow yourself to live in the moment with her. Know what I'm saying?"

Back in Temari's room. Temari was beginning to crave for something alcoholic. Or someone soft and all smart-ass. God, maybe they should just do it with or without the kids around. Who was she kidding? She was gonna be a terrible mother.

"Temari, are you listening?"

"Still here, hotstuff. I don't know, Sakura! It sounds good so I don't know why you're freaking out! I can never understand the way you think. You know that. You did a good thing. Something I definitely wouldn't do. Especially if it was the girl of my dreams under me. But it was a good thing, a highly respectable thing! It makes me admire you more. So don't worry about it. Being romantic has never been a weak link for you."

"But she's different, Temari. Somehow I don't think a dozen roses and a candlelit dinner is going to cut it."

"Why don't you do something you like for a change?"

"On our date? Seriously."

"She'll probably appreciate something less cliché," Temari said with a grin. "You hafta be spontaneous with girls like her and Tenten. They appreciate the extra distance we go for them. I mean, I do a lot of things to piss her off, but I know she still loves me and she knows I try. Besides, I think all of us can agree that you deserve something for yourself. Just be brave and be yourself, okay? No matter where you end up going."

Sakura thought about it. She kept thinking even as she hung up. She rifled through her memories for a romantic place for their first date. Something that is romantic but also spontaneous. Perhaps a dozen roses and a candlelit dinner aren't going to cut it. It's cliché after all. But all it takes is just a few minor adjustments. Sakura grinned at her brilliant plan. Now that Ino had time to think, she'd need more than a little bit of luck to persuade her.

* * *

Ino stood in the dark, rubbing one arm impatiently. She felt a breeze rustle across her summer dress. The ribbons swayed. The grass around her slapped her knees. Sakura led her hear after she stumbled out of her car. She'd been blindfolded the whole way. On one hand she felt a little empathetic for her daughter, but on the other she was beginning to get very pissed off. It was late and she didn't eat. Instead Sakura had locked herself in the kitchen for an hour then caught her on the couch with a blindfold. At first her heart raced like a teenager in love, anticipating something outside the scope of her imagination.

But another hour's car ride and ten minutes of standing in the dark can do wonders on one's bubbly feelings.

"Can I take this off now?" she said for the umpteenth time.

Sakura's laugher drifted from a few metres away. "Almost. It'll be worth it, I promise. You'll be impressed!"

"Does every girl have to go through this?" Ino said jokingly.

"Ah ha, no. To be honest I've never done this before, but it looks pretty good in my head."

"You're kidding. Well I've never had to be blinded for an hour and a half on a first date before so I believe you."

"I hope I'm not breaking any unwritten rules. I never knew there's a time limit for that," Sakura said. Ino could almost see the smile on her face. She unconsciously smiled at the picture in her head. The cold war had ended. Thank god. She loved how easy it was to make conversations now. She loved how easy it was to manipulate the other girl's expressions. There was no doubt in her mind that, if Sakura was a man, she'd never have hesitated for as long as she did.

"Any longer and it becomes bondage you know," Ino tried, making no effort to hide the coyness in her voice.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Well!" she replied, changing the subject as fast as she could, "almost done!"

Then the blindfold came off.

Ino stood, eyes wide, legs frozen, floating on a sea of green and yellow. "Wow," she whispered to herself. She raised her arms and spun around. Sakura watched her with a grin and motioned her towards a red and white picnic blanket laid out for two. It was all set up with a bouquet of roses on the side. The area, surrounded by tall grass, formed a little haven for the two of them. Above, the night was lit up by little orbs of light scattered between earth and sky. The lights floated around Ino's outstretched hands wistfully. There were so many suspended-like an open ocean of little lights. "Fireflies," she murmured, "it's beautiful." Beyond the lights, the speckled sky shone bright with stars. Once in a while a lonely bird would fly by while the crickets provided ambience.

But all was quiet outside the city drone.

"C'mon," Sakura said. She smiled and took her hand, leading her towards the picnic blanket. She had a single covered platter between two plates. She picked it up and said with a sheepish look on her face, "I didn't know how empty the kitchen was until today, so I'm going to apologize in advance because it's not very sexy at all."

Ino laughed. "What? Hamburgers?"

"Worse"—she uncovered the silver platter—"pizza." And sure enough, glistening with the firebugs was a round pizza with a perfect golden crust and lots of cheese.

"Honestly," Ino said, biting back her giggles, "this looks a lot more difficult than, let's say, spaghetti and meatballs."

"Let me be honest too then," Sakura said. "I didn't make this. I picked it up on the way here. I was actually having a panic attack in the kitchen. So now you know." She flashed a hopeful grin in consolation. Inside she was raging up a cold sweat, hoping she hadn't ruined her chances. "Oh, uh, I, um, didn't know what you liked so I ordered a different topping for each slice. They weren't very happy about that but, uh…too bad, I guess?"

"You're so cute, Sakura," Ino said with a chuckle. Sakura blushed. "And don't worry about it, this is nice, really. I've never had anyone go such lengths for me. So thank you. Besides, ever since I came here I haven't had any pizza. I couldn't afford it when I was living alone and when I moved in with you, you went out of your way to cook every day. So you shouldn't feel bad. I love pizza."

After dinner they sat together on the hood of Sakura's car, watching the stars and the fireflies.

"Mm, I haven't had pizza since I lived with that bastard. It brings back nice memories though."

"Ha-ha, it's been years for me too. My mom hates this stuff. She said it was a disgrace to Italian cuisine or something like that. Not to mention what it does to your thighs."

Ino laughed. "Once in a while, it's great though. Say, um, serious question. Did you ever find your biological parents?"

"My social worker told me they died or something. Car crash I guess. Either way it didn't matter. I had my mom and she was all I needed. After her death, you know, I cried a lot. For years I had these slumps where I'd just cry myself to sleep from time to time. I guess I just kind of forgot what it was like to be alone. Do you wanna hear something cliché?" she said with a smile. Ino nodded. Green eyes caught blue, and suddenly Ino couldn't find her breath. "After I met you, it was like my mom was with me again. I felt so alive, and so happy. I forgot what it was like to have a family. Just…thinking about you wanting to move out and live on your own with Chikao and Chika again…it devastated me. I tried to give you the kindness my mother gave me when she found me, but you came and gave me something to live for. Y'know if she was alive, she'd definitely like you."

"I'd probably like her too," Ino said. "Wouldn't it be nice to meet her. My parents, you know, we don't talk anymore. I was a disgrace I guess, for having being pregnant at 20. I was too much of a child, my father told me. I'd always been something of a princess until I had Chikao. And worse I wasn't married when I had him. We're supposed to be celibate until marriage but I was caught in the heat of a moment so…it happened. We were so in love then," Ino said, scoffing at the memory. "His parents died, but they left him a small fortune. He invested it and, for a while, we lived the high life. But…things didn't work out. We lost all of that. That's when he picked up his drinking habits and…now I'm here. With you."

"All it took was five years, huh?"

"A lot can happen in five years. Just look at Chika. It felt like just yesterday when I held her in my arms, smiling at the camera as the nurse took our picture," Ino shook her head. "I wish I knew you then."

"Well! On the bright side, we're here and we have many more years ahead of us to make up for every bad day we ever had. I mean look at these little fireflies. They're only have a few weeks more to live. Us…we've got more than I can calculate off the top of my head."

Ino giggled, the sound of her voice surprising even her in its degree of schoolgirl childishness. She cleared her throat. "You know, I'm glad that we can talk like this. I really…didn't know what to do. All I know is that I really, really hated the state we were in."

"Y-yeah, guess we have Temari and Tenten to thank, huh?"

"Those little monsters are probably driving the two of them insane. Purposefully too might I add."

A comfortable silence crept in.

Sakura stared at her boots. Then she spoke again, her voice soft and sombre. "I'm sorry. For the silence, I mean. I was scared. I really didn't know what I was going to do if you rejected me and walked out of my life. You, Chika, and Chikao. I don't know how long I can hold on to the life we have now, but I can't even imagine what will happen once it's over. What if you found a man and gave you a life I never could? What if you found my love disgusting, or you suddenly felt unsafe? What if you'd rather live alone raising two kids? It scares me to death. But it scares me more to see you suffer alone again. So I guess, what I mean is, if you do…one day…find a man who loves you as I do, then I will let go. If it makes you happy. I mean…if it's inevitable, then I won't fight to make you miserable. I don't know. Does that make sense?" She turned to face her with earnest eyes.

"Oh, Sakura." Ino quivered, staring back with watery eyes. "I wish I can say the same. This is so hard."

"A-ah! Please don't cry," Sakura said softly. "I already know that. But...it would be such an honour if you could give me the chance to love you. Maybe one day you'll feel the same? I meant every word I said, you know."

Ino leaned over and wrapped her arms around the other girl in a tight embrace. Hesitantly, Sakura wrapped her arms around her waist. They both relaxed. As they held each other under the moon, the stars, and the field of lightning bugs, the world stopped turning and things felt right for the first time in their lives. It was as if every year of grief vanished into the still air. "I could never find your love disgusting," Ino murmured into Sakura's shirt. She slowly pulled herself away. "I have to know, Sakura. Why me?"

Sakura didn't hesitate. She smiled, as if she expected the question from the beginning. "You're beautiful and you're amazing. The truth is…the second I saw you, Chikao, and Chika, I knew your smiles were the ones I want to spend the rest of my life protecting. You saved me from living life like a zombie. And as for what I love about you, I'd say everything but it wouldn't be enough for you. Instead I'll say that I love the way your eyes sparkle around the children, I love your gentleness, your firmness, and your strength. I love your voice and the way it welcomes me home. I love your sad days, your bad days, your good days, your best days. I guess I can make a list if that's what you want, but it'd take longer than you'd think. Days, weeks, months, years. Not because I can't come up with things to say but because I have too much to say. That makes sense right?"

Ino looked away. "You're such a cheesy person," she grumbled, but Sakura could see the smile tugging the corner of her mouth. "I bet you rehearsed that."

"For longer than I cared to count," Sakura replied.

Ino laughed again. She knew it wasn't true. They sat quietly, their bodies almost overlapping. The crickets chirped. The wind snaked through the field stealthily. The bouquet of roses sat on the dashboard inside. They weren't red roses, at least not all of them. It was a bouquet of colours, a beautiful array of shades. A shade of red for love and a shade for beauty, white for sincerity and yellow for happiness and promise of a new life ahead. There was a bit of purple for enchantment, a bit of black for infinity, a bit of blue for obstacles ahead. Peach for gratitude and orange for desire. Altogether were eleven roses, a guarantee, she explained, that the receiver was deeply and unconditionally loved. Who knows whether she made it up or whether it was a marketing ploy. Regardless, she did not deny the warm feeling and the rapid pounding of her heart. Just thinking about it again gave her butterflies.

"Ino," Sakura said suddenly.

"Sakura."

"If I…ask to kiss you again…could it, you know, serve as an answer to my question? No cheesiness I promise. I just want to know. Will you accept my love and let me kiss you again?"

This time, Ino felt fearless.

"Yes."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello again, everyone! Sorry this update took so long. I got caught up in work and games and TV and all. Started watching Glee (dontchu be hatin' now!) so I might do a Brittana story sometime. I have an unexplainable infatuation with Brittany. Even though she gets like one line every 38462764 episode. Yay for real lesbians!

Anyway, yeah. My writing has been going pretty slow. I'm only finished now after I promised a good friend of mine to have it posted by the time she arrives home from Vegas. So I worked at doubletime for 3-4 days and now it's out! A few hours late but nonetheless. It's my new year's present to you all, haha! It's like 2:30am now so I apologize with my tired rambling.

**Further plans for this story…**There will be **ONE** more chapter for Rouge and that will be the final conclusion. I've already thought about it a little bit and hopefully it will all work out. **After the main story** I have plans for short stories or one-shots (same diff) to go along with it. Those will probably happen along different parts of the storyline but there you go! R&R and keep expecting them stories (:

**Be advised that I may or may not choose to include interactions of the sexual nature.** I will likely have a warning at the top.

Oh yes and I forgot to mention the "magic bullet" Chikao found was a vibrator (if you couldn't guess) I'm not a hundred percent on it's existence but I do recall something by the name.


End file.
